English

madderwort

From madder + wort.

A compound of madder + wort

Proto-Germanic *madarǭ

Old English mædere

Middle English mader ‘Madder or a similar plant’

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

Today it means

noun Rubia tinctorum (common madder).

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

Etymograph / madderwort