Names
The common name cowslip derives from the Old English cowshit meaning "cow dung", probably because the plant was often found growing amongst the manure in cow pastures.
The species name vēris means "of spring".
Folk names include Cowslip, Cuy lippe, Herb Peter, Paigle, Peggle, Key Flower, Key of Heaven, Fairy Cups, Petty Mulleins, Crewel, Buckles, Palsywort, Plumrocks.
Read more about this topic: Primula Veris
Famous quotes containing the word names:
“Holding myself the humblest of all whose names were before the convention, I feel in especial need of the assistance of all.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“Consider the islands bearing the names of all the saints, bristling with forts like chestnut-burs, or Echinidæ, yet the police will not let a couple of Irishmen have a private sparring- match on one of them, as it is a government monopoly; all the great seaports are in a boxing attitude, and you must sail prudently between two tiers of stony knuckles before you come to feel the warmth of their breasts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It was a poetic recreation to watch those distant sails steering for half-fabulous ports, whose very names are a mysterious music to our ears.... It is remarkable that men do not sail the sea with more expectation. Nothing was ever accomplished in a prosaic mood.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)