ergot

(ʉrgət, -gät′)

noun

  1. the hard, reddish-brown or black, grainlike masses (sclerotia) of certain parasitic fungi (esp. genus Claviceps) that replace the kernels of rye or other cereal plants
  2. the disease in which this occurs; specif., the disease of rye caused by a species (Claviceps purpurea) of this fungus
  3. the dried sclerotia of the rye fungus from which several alkaloids are extracted that have the ability to contract blood vessels and smooth muscle tissue
  4. any of these alkaloids

Origin: Fr < OFr argot, a rooster's spur, hence (from the shape) the disease growth in the plant

Related Forms:

See ergot in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. A fungus (Claviceps purpurea) that infects various cereal plants and forms compact black masses of branching filaments that replace many of the grains of the host plant.
  2. The disease caused by such a fungus.
  3. The dried sclerotia of ergot, usually obtained from rye seed and used as a source of several medicinally important alkaloids and as the basic source of lysergic acid.

Origin:

Origin: French

Origin: , from Old French argot, cock's spur (from its shape)

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Related Forms:

  • er·gotˈic adjective

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