English

felonwort

From felon + wort, from its supposed efficacy in treating felons ("inflammations around the nail").

A compound of felon + wort

Early Medieval Latin fellōnem

Old French felon ‘bad, evil, immoral’

Middle English feloun

English felon

Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds ‘a root’

Proto-Germanic *wrōts ‘a root’

Proto-West Germanic *wurti ‘a root’

Old English wyrt ‘a plant’

Middle English wort ‘any herb or plant’

English wort

The story

From felon + wort, from its supposed efficacy in treating felons ("inflammations around the nail").

noun Bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara).

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / felonwort