Slipperwort

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A plant of the figwort family bearing flowers with a pouch-like lower lip that resembles a slipper
2. Any of several plants in the figwort family, characterized by flowers shaped like a slipper or shoe
3. A figwort family plant distinguished by its distinctive slipper-shaped flowers

Etymology: "Slipperwort" is a plain compound: "slipper" joined to "wort," the Old English word for a plant, which survives in names like "mugwort" and "liverwort." The name refers to the flower's shape. The plant's bloom resembles a small pouch or slipper, which is the same image behind the plant's other common names. Because the word is a straightforward combination of two English elements, there is no borrowing or sound change to trace. The plant takes its name from how its flower looks, and the compound simply records that resemblance in everyday English.