mullein

English
Mullein Verbascum thapsus

Wikispecies

Alternative forms

Etymology

14th century; Middle English moleyne, from Anglo-Norman and Old French moleine, either a Celtic borrowing, from Proto-Celtic *melinos (“yellow”), from *meli (“honey”) (compare Breton melen (“yellow”) and Welsh melyn (“yellow”))[1]; or from mol (“soft”), from Latin mollis (“soft”), referencing the plant's fluffy, downy leaves, also apparent in synonyms, such as feltwort, flannel leaf, and velvet plant.[2]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈmʌlɨn/

Noun

mullein (usually uncountable, plural mulleins)

  1. Any of several European and Asian plants, of the genus Verbascum, that have yellow flowers and downy leaves; the velvet plant.

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Translations

References
  1. Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
  2. “mullein” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
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