Any of several plants traditionally believed to heal or strengthen the heart, or having heart-shaped leaves.
Compound of 'hart' (heart, or male deer) and 'wort' (plant), following the medieval practice of naming medicinal plants after their supposed benefits or appearance. The '-wort' suffix appears in hundreds of English plant names.
The word 'hartwort' reveals the medieval principle of 'the Doctrine of Signatures'—the idea that plants shaped like body parts could heal those parts, which combined superstition and lucky observation in equal measure.
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