yarrow
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yarrow¹
- /ˈjæɹəʊ/ UK
- /ˈjæɹoʊ/ US
- /ˈjɛ(ə)ɹoʊ/
Rhymes with -æɹəʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English ȝarowe, yarowe, yarwe, from Old English ġearwe, from Proto-West Germanic *garwā (“yarrow, yarrow-like herbs”), perhaps derived from *garu (“prepared, ready (of food)”), as the plant was used medicinally for digestion.
Cognate with Dutch gerw (“yarrow”) and German (Schaf-)garbe.
noun yarrows
- Any of several pungent Eurasian and North American herbs, of the genus Achillea, used in traditional herbal medicine. Yarrow is one of the aboriginal English plants, and from time immemorial it has been used in incantations and by witches. Country folk still regard it as one of our most valuable herbs, especially for rheumatism.
-
Common yarrow, Achillea millefolium, the type species of the genus.
The Yarrow, where-with-all he stops the wound-made gore:
Similar: devil's nettle, sanguinary, soldier's woundwort, thousand-leaf
Similar: milfoil, achillea, yarrow, bloodwort, nosebleed plant, old man's pepper, European green woodpecker, hewhole, hickwall, green woodpecker, whetile, whitwall, yaffingale, yaffle, yaffler, yockel
yarrow²
- /ˈjæɹəʊ/ UK
- /ˈjæɹoʊ/ US
- /ˈjɛ(ə)ɹoʊ/
Rhymes with -æɹəʊ
Where it comes from
Origin unknown. Perhaps imitative of the bird's cry; compare yaffle, hewhole.
noun yarrows
-
A green woodpecker, of species Picus viridis.
Similar: achillea, milfoil, devil's nettle, sanguinary, soldier's woundwort, thousand-leaf
Similar: yarrow, bloodwort, nosebleed plant, old man's pepper, European green woodpecker, hewhole, hickwall, green woodpecker, whetile, whitwall, yaffingale, yaffle, yaffler, yockel
Yarrow³
Where it comes from
* The river is believed to be of Celtic/Brythonic origin and related to Welsh garw (“rough”).
* English and Scottish surname derived from the river, though likely influenced by the noun yarrow.
proper noun
- A river in Lancashire, England, which flows into the River Douglas.
- A river, named Yarrow Water, in Scottish Borders council area, Scotland.
- A hamlet and parish in the Yarrow Valley, Scottish Borders council area (OS grid ref NT3527).
- A hamlet in Mark parish, Somerset, England, previously in Sedgemoor district (OS grid ref ST3847).
- A small community in British Columbia, Canada.
- An unincorporated community in Missouri, United States.
- A locality in the Queanbeyan-Palerang council area, south eastern New South Wales, Australia.
- A surname. In comments to Hyperallergic, ancient historian and classical numismatist Liv Yarrow noted the absence of SPQR coins during the period of the Republic and its later use as a means of justifying autocracy while harkening back to an earlier age:
Thesaurus
noun
Similar: milfoil, achillea, yarrow, bloodwort, nosebleed plant, old man's pepper, European green woodpecker, hewhole, hickwall, green woodpecker, whetile, whitwall, yaffingale, yaffle, yaffler, yockel
noun
Similar: yarrow, bloodwort, nosebleed plant, old man's pepper, European green woodpecker, hewhole, hickwall, green woodpecker, whetile, whitwall, yaffingale, yaffle, yaffler, yockel
Translations
Every language
noun herb of the genus Achillea
| Español | milenrama, plumajillo, perejil bravío |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 蓍 shī |
| Português | milefólio |
| Français | achillée, mille-feuille |
| Deutsch | Schafgarbe |
| Italiano | millefoglio |
| Ελληνικά | αγριαψιθιά agriapsithiá |
| Română | coada șoricelului |
| Русский | тысячели́стник tysjačelístnik |
| العربية | قَيْصُوم qayṣūm |
Talk about this word "yarrow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/yarrow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. yarrow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/yarrow "yarrow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/yarrow.Cite this
@misc{yarrow_2026,
title = {yarrow},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/yarrow},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
