darnel
/ˈdɑːnəɫ/ noun
Forms darnels
- noun Any of the genus Lolium of grasses, especially as a weed in wheat fields.
- noun Especially, the species Lolium temulentum, often host to a fungus toxic to humans and animals.
Synonyms
ryegrass bearded darnel poison darnel white darnel tare cheat Lolium temulentum
Etymology
From Middle English darnel, dernel, from Old Northern French darnelle ( > dialectal French dernelle, darnette), of Germanic origin, possibly Proto-West Germanic *darjan (“to harm, injure”). Displaced native Old English boþen.
Related to Walloon darne, derne (“stunned, dazed, drunk”), Middle Dutch verdarnt, verdaernt (“stunned, dumbfounded, angry”). The association with being dazed or drunkenness is due to the well-known intoxicating effects of the plant.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any grass of the genus Lolium, esp. the Lolium temulentum (bearded darnel), the grains of which have been reputed poisonous.
Etymology [OE. darnel, dernel, of uncertain origin; cf. dial. F. darnelle, Sw. dår-repe; perh. named from a supposed intoxicating quality of the plant, and akin to Sw. dåra to infatuate, OD. door foolish, G. thor fool, and Ee. dizzy.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “darnel”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details