agnus castus

English

An agnus castus tree
Vitex agnus-castus

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄγνος (ágnos), confused with ἁγνός (hagnós, “chaste”); + by reinforcement Latin castus (“chaste”).

Noun

agnus castus (plural agnus castuses)

1. A tree, Vitex agnus-castus, formerly believed to preserve chastity.
   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
     , II.4.1.iii, 1813, Volume 2, page 94:

     […] some herbs provoke lust; some again, as agnus castus, waterlilly, quite extinguish seed  […] .

Synonyms

• chaste tree

Translations

chaste tree — see chaste tree

Further reading

• agnus castus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Vitex agnus-castus on Wikispecies.Wikispecies