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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BAD-MONEY, BALDMONEY, BALDMINNIE, BAUDMINNIE, BAWD-MONEY, n. An aromatic herb, the gentian plant; also the spignel (Meum athamanticum), the root of which is used for medicinal purposes in the Highlands.Sc. 1887 Jam.6:
Baudminnie, Baldminnie, the plant Gentian, believed to have properties that can kill the fœtus in the womb; hence its name Bawd-money. (Bad-money, Bald-money, the plant gentian, Rxb. 1879 Jam.5)
Abd. 1853 P. H. Macgillivray Plants and Ferns 13:
Meum Athamanticum Jacq. Baldmoney. Occasionally on the banks of the Dee, washed down from the upland district.
Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 50:
Baudminnie. An herb having the same qualities as the “Savingtree.”
ne.Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B. 46:
Bad-money, one or other species of gentian.

[Origin uncertain. Baud, money, minnie, may be merely efforts of folk-etymologists. Baldmoney, gentian of various species, is marked obs. in N.E.D., which gives only three examples for the other sense — viz. spignel, Meum athamanticum, — dated 1598, 1690, 1861.]

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"Bad-money n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 24 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/badmoney>

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