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birthroot

[ burth-root, -root ]

noun

  1. Also called birthwort, purple trillium. a trillium, Trillium erectum, the roots root of which were formerly used in medicine as an astringent.
  2. any of certain other species of trillium.


birthroot

/ ˈbɜːθˌruːt /

noun

  1. any of several North American plants of the genus Trillium , esp T. erectum , whose tuber-like roots were formerly used by the Native Americans as an aid in childbirth: family Trilliaceae
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of birthroot1

First recorded in 1815–25; birth + root 1
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Example Sentences

It is first cousin to the trilliums, among the prettiest of our native wild flowers, and the same bad blood crops out in the purple trillium or birthroot.

"It is first cousin to the trilliums, among the prettiest of our native wild flowers," continues Burroughs, "and the same bad blood crops out in the purple trillium or birthroot."

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