What does agrimony mean?
Agrimony is the common name for a group of perennial herbs belonging to the genus Agrimonia in the rose family, Rosaceae. The best-known species, Agrimonia eupatoria, is native to Europe and parts of Asia and produces tall, slender spikes of small five-petaled yellow flowers from midsummer onward, followed by burr-like seed heads that cling to passing animals. In appearance it is an unassuming wayside plant, typically found along hedgerows, field margins, and roadside verges on chalky soils. Its historical significance lies chiefly in herbal medicine: since ancient times agrimony has been prized as a gentle astringent, and dried leaves and flowering tops were brewed into teas and gargles for sore throats, digestive complaints, and minor wounds. Folklore attached further virtues to it, including beliefs about healing and sleep. Today agrimony survives mainly as a subject of botanical interest, a component of some modern herbal preparations, and a familiar sight to walkers who know it by its alternative country names such as church steeples or stickwort.
nounAgrimony is a perennial herbaceous plant of the rose family (genus Agrimonia), bearing slender spikes of small yellow flowers, long valued in herbal medicine as a mild astringent and tonic.
- The herb Agrimonia eupatoria and related species of the genus Agrimonia, with spikes of small yellow flowers, used traditionally in herbal medicine as an astringent and tonic.
"The hedgerow was bright with agrimony, its yellow flower spikes nodding in the summer breeze."
"Dried agrimony leaves have long been steeped as a tea for sore throats and digestive complaints."
"She pressed a sprig of agrimony between the pages of her field guide, noting its deeply divided leaves and bristled seed heads."
The plural is rare in practice, since agrimony is usually treated as an uncountable collective term for the herb; the plural appears mainly in botanical writing referring to multiple plants or species.
"Several agrimonies grew along the sunny bank, their yellow spikes catching the light."
In medieval folklore, agrimony was believed to heal wounds when hung around the neck — and to send the sleeper it was placed under into a slumber from which no one could wake them until it was removed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of agrimony
The name agrimony entered English through Old French 'agremoine', which derived from Latin 'agrimonia', itself adapted from the Greek 'argemōnē', a term applied to various medicinal plants and meaning roughly 'an eye-healing herb'. The Greek root also gave rise to the poppy genus Argemone, whose members were similarly credited with eye remedies. The word has been in English use since at least the medieval period, carried over with the broader corpus of herbal lore transmitted through Latin and French sources.
How agrimony is actually used
Agrimony is primarily encountered in botanical, gardening, and herbal-medicine contexts rather than everyday conversation. It is a formal or specialist register word; laypeople are more likely to meet it in wildflower guides or traditional-remedy literature than in general speech.
Easily confused with agrimony
Hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum) is an unrelated daisy-family plant with pinkish flowers that merely shares the common name; true agrimony is a rose-family herb with yellow flower spikes.