wort

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

wort, n. [OE. wort, wurt, AS. wyrt herb, root; akin to OS. wurt, G. wurz, Icel. jurt, urt, Dan. urt, Sw. ört, Goth. waúrts a root, L. radix, Gr. a root, a branch, young shoot, a branch, and E. root, n. Cf. Licorice, Orchard, Radish, Root, n., Whortleberry, Wort an infusion of malt.].

•  A plant of any kind.  [1913 Webster]

  " This word is now chiefly used in combination, as in colewort, figwort, St. John's-wort, woundwort, etc."  [1913 Webster]
•  Cabbages.  [1913 Webster]

wort, n. [OE. worte, wurte, AS. wyrte; akin to OD. wort, G. wÜrze, bierwÜrze, Icel. virtr, Sw. vört. See Wort an herb.].

 An infusion of malt which is unfermented, or is in the act of fermentation; the sweet infusion of malt, which ferments and forms beer; hence, any similar liquid in a state of incipient fermentation.  [1913 Webster]
" Wort consists essentially of a dilute solution of sugar, which by fermentation produces alcohol and carbon dioxide."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

wort, n.
1 archaic (except in names) a plant or herb (liverwort; St John's wort).
2 the infusion of malt which after fermentation becomes beer.

Etymology

OE wyrt: rel. to ROOT(1)

THESAURUS

wort

algae, autophyte, bean, bracken, brown algae, climber, conferva, confervoid, creeper, diatom, fern, fruits and vegetables, fucus, fungus, grapevine, green algae, gulfweed, herb, heterophyte, ivy, kelp, legume, lentil, liana, lichen, liverwort, mold, moss, mushroom, parasite, parasitic plant, pea, perthophyte, phytoplankton, planktonic algae, plant families, puffball, pulse, red algae, rockweed, rust, saprophyte, sargasso, sargassum, sea lentil, sea moss, sea wrack, seaweed, smut, succulent, toadstool, vetch, vine, wrack