banewort

Etymology

From bane + wort.

banewort means Atropa belladonna, deadly nightshade. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 92 out of 100.

Why this word is great

BANEWORT — [Noun] A folk name for a poisonous plant, chiefly Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade) or, in British usage, Ranunculus flammula (lesser spearwort). From Middle English bane ("poison, destruction") + wort ("plant, herb"). Unlike "belladonna," which precisely denotes a specific species and its dualistic properties, or "nightshade," which names a broad family containing both lethal and benign members, "banewort" is a stark, functional compound that defines the plant solely by its capacity for harm. It is the glossy black berry in the shadowed hedge, the crushed leaf releasing a scent of damp earth and warning, the unassuming spear of yellow flower in a damp meadow—a label not of botany but of consequence, a whispered map of what to avoid.

noun

Atropa belladonna, deadly nightshade.
Ranunculus flammula, spearwort