witch hazel
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.44 in modern English
30
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of several small deciduous trees, of the genus Hamamelis, having yellow flowers
American usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
Any of several small deciduous trees, of the genus Hamamelis, having yellow flowers
American usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
A wych-elm, or a certain subspecies of it distinguished from wych-elm.
Countable; Obsolete; Uncountable
Etymology
See Middle English wiche, from Old English wiċe (“wych elm or rowan”), perhaps derived from the root of wīcan (“to give way”). Folk etymology refers to use by witches and other sorcerers of folkish magic using the plant in potions; however, compare German Zaubernuss (“witch hazel”, literally “magic nut”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: wiche, wiċe
Usage
- American usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Obsolete
Inflected Forms
witch hazels (plural)
witch-hazel (alternative)
wych-hazel (alternative)
wych-hasel (alternative)
wych hazel (alternative)
witch-hasel (alternative)
wych hasel (alternative)
witch hasel (alternative)
witch-hasell (alternative)
wych-hasell (alternative)
witch-hazell (alternative)
wych-hazell (alternative)