tansy

Meanings

Plural: tansies

Noun

common perennial aromatic herb native to Eurasia having buttonlike yellow flower heads and bitter-tasting pinnate leaves sometimes used medicinally
A herbaceous plant with yellow flowers, of the genus Tanacetum, especially Tanacetum vulgare.
A dish common in the seventeenth century, made of eggs, sugar, rose water, cream, and the juice of herbs (including tansy), baked with butter in a shallow dish. "Originally flavoured with tansy, but by Pepys's time generally having spinach as its predominant flavouring."

Origin / Etymology

Inherited from Middle English tansy, tansey, syncopic forms of earlier tanesie, tanesei, from Old French tanesie, tanoisie, tanasie, tanaisie, from Medieval Latin tanacetum, atanacetum, attested since the 8th century, of obscure origin, speculated from Ancient Greek ἀθανασία (athanasía, “immortality”) owing to hallucinations from the thujone in the plant, else from taenia (“tapeworm”) due to its primary use against parasites by which reason it is called in Arabic حَشِيشَة الدُود (ḥašīša ad-dūd, literally “worm herb”), otherwise a Berber borrowing like tagetes.

Synonyms

golden buttons, scented fern, Tanacetum vulgare

Scrabble Score: 8

tansy is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
tansy is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
tansy is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

tansy is a valid Words With Friends word