Lunary

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An old name for the moonwort, a small fern whose crescent-shaped leaflets gave it a link to the moon in traditional herbal lore
2. A plant name for moonwort, a delicate fern with crescent-shaped fronds that was once prized in folk herbal practice
3. The traditional common name for moonwort, a small fern historically associated with the moon and used in old herbal remedies

Etymology: The plant that gave this word its name is better known as honesty, a garden plant whose flat, papery seed pods are shaped like silver discs. Its Latin name, "lunaria," comes from "luna," the moon, because the translucent pods were thought to resemble the full moon. Botanists later used "Lunaria" as the genus name, and English took the plant name from that Latin usage. The older English name for the plant, "lunary," was a folk term that gained a second life in the herbal tradition, where moon-linked plants were credited with magical powers. Its meaning stayed tied to the moon's shape and to the plant it named. The moon connection runs through the word from start to finish.