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Origin and history of vervain

vervain(n.)

herbaceous plant much valued medicinally in Middle Ages, c. 1300, verveine, from Old French verveine (13c.), from Latin verbena (see Verbena).

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to vervain

Verbena(n.)

genus of plants, the vervain, 1560s, from Latin verbena "foliage, herbage; leaves, twigs, and branches," especially of laurel, olive, myrtle, as used in religious ceremonies; also of a class of plants used in medicine as cooling remedies.

This is reconstructed to be a derivative of verbera "twigs, twigs for flogging;" said to be cognate with Lithuanian virbas "twig, branch, scion, rod;" Russian verba "willow twig," voroba "cord"). According to Watkins this is from PIE root *wer- (2) "to turn, bend." Related: Verbenaceous (1836).

*wer-(2)

Proto-Indo-European root forming words meaning "to turn, bend."

It might form all or part of: adverse; anniversary; avert; awry; controversy; converge; converse (adj.) "exact opposite;" convert; diverge; divert; evert; extroversion; extrovert; gaiter; introrse; introvert; invert; inward; malversation; obverse; peevish; pervert; prose; raphe; reverberate; revert; rhabdomancy; rhapsody; rhombus; ribald; sinistrorse; stalwart; subvert; tergiversate; transverse; universe; verbena; verge (v.1) "tend, incline;" vermeil; vermicelli; vermicular; vermiform; vermin; versatile; verse (n.) "poetry;" version; verst; versus; vertebra; vertex; vertigo; vervain; vortex; -ward; warp; weird; worm; worry; worth (adj.) "significant, valuable, of value;" worth (v.) "to come to be;" wrangle; wrap; wrath; wreath; wrench; wrest; wrestle; wriggle; wring; wrinkle; wrist; writhe; wrong; wroth; wry.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit vartate "turns round, rolls;" Avestan varet- "to turn;" Hittite hurki- "wheel;" Greek rhatane "stirrer, ladle;" Latin vertere (frequentative versare) "to turn, turn back, be turned; convert, transform, translate; be changed," versus "turned toward or against;" Old Church Slavonic vrŭteti "to turn, roll," Russian vreteno "spindle, distaff;" Lithuanian verčiu, versti "to turn;" German werden, Old English weorðan "to become;" Old English -weard "toward," originally "turned toward," weorthan "to befall," wyrd "fate, destiny," literally "what befalls one;" Welsh gwerthyd "spindle, distaff;" Old Irish frith "against."

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