Wodebynde

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic name for a twining climbing plant, the common honeysuckle, that wraps itself around hedges and trees
2. Old English term for a woody vine, the honeysuckle, which winds its stems around supports as it grows
3. A climbing shrub of the honeysuckle kind, known in older English writing for its twisting, clinging stems

Etymology: This is a Middle English spelling of "woodbine," a name for the honeysuckle plant, and its Old English ancestor was "wudubinde." The first half is "wudu," meaning wood or forest, and the second half comes from "bindan," to bind. The name describes the plant's habit of twining itself around hedges, shrubs, and trees. Old English glossators used "wudubinde" to translate Latin terms for climbing honeysuckle, which suggests the plant was well known in English gardens and hedgerows well before the Middle English period. The spelling changed over the centuries, and "woodbine" remained common in English, while "honeysuckle" (from "honey" and "suckle," for the sweet nectar that people sucked from the flowers) is the name that became standard in most of the country.