Eupator

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of plant known for its medicinal properties, particularly in treating ailments
2. Referring to a genus of herbs within the Asteraceae family that are often used in herbal remedies
3. Describing a group of flowering plants valued for their therapeutic uses and contributions to traditional medicine

Etymology: Eupatorium, the genus name for the boneset and joe-pye weed family, takes its name from Mithridates VI Eupator, the king of Pontus who ruled in the first century BCE and was famed for his supposed resistance to poisons. "Eupator" is Greek for "well-fathered" or "of a noble father," from "eu" meaning "well" and "pater" meaning "father," and it was the king's title, not a term for a plant. According to ancient tradition, Mithridates experimented with antidotes and remedies, and a plant was later credited with his name, so the word passed from a royal epithet into botanical use. The plant name is a learned coinage, not an ancient Greek word. Botanists in the early modern period, following the Greek and Latin naming habits of Linnaeus's era, adopted a Latinized form, "Eupatorium," as a genus name. The English word "eupator" in the sense of a medicinal herb is therefore a later, specialized borrowing from that scientific Latin, and its link to the king is preserved only through the plant's name.

Synonyms: Eupatorium