ergot

English

Barley grain with ergots (sclerotia of Claviceps purpurea)

Ergot on the leg of a mare.

Etymology

Borrowed from French ergot.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈəːɡət/, IPA^(key): /ˈəːɡɒt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈəɹɡət/, IPA^(key): /ˈəɹˌɡɑt/

Noun

ergot (countable and uncountable, plural ergots)

1. Any fungus in the genus Claviceps which are parasitic on grasses.
2. The sclerotium (wintering stage) of certain fungi in the genus Claviceps, appearing as a deformed grain in certain cereals and grasses infected by the fungi.
   • 1980, Albert Hofmann, chapter 1, in Jonathan Ott, transl., LSD, My Problem Child‎^[1], McGraw-Hill, →ISBN, archived from the original on 22 May 2016:

     Ergot first appeared on the stage of history in the early Middle Ages, as the cause of outbreaks of mass poisonings affecting thousands of persons at a time. The illness, whose connection with ergot was for a long time obscure, appeared in two characteristic forms, one gangrenous (ergotismus gangraenosus) and the other convulsive (ergotismus convulsivus).

3. The wart-like growth of skin that covers the metacarpal pad on a horse or similar animal.
   • 1912, Richard Lydekker, The Horse and Its Relatives, page vi:

     Since the text was in type, Mr. R. I. Pocock has pointed out (The Field, Jan. 20, 1912, p. 143) that the aperture of a scent-gland situated on the posterior aspect of the hind-foot of the Indian rhinoceros occupies a position very nearly similar to that of the ergot in the foot of the horse (infra, p. 41).

   • 2003, Klaus-Dieter Budras, ‎W. O. Sack, ‎Sabine Rock, Anatomy of the Horse: An Illustrated Text, page 8:

     It is crossed medially and laterally by the ligament of the ergot (not shown), that, subcutaneously, connects the ergot with the hoof cartilage.

   • 2016, Gary Mullen, Horses: Amazing Facts and Trivia, page 102:

     Place the end of a length of string at the fetlock joint (near the ergot, the tubular growth on the back of the fetlock joint, hidden within the hair tuft).

Derived terms

• ergotamine
• ergotic
• ergotism
• ergosterol

Translations

any fungus of the genus Claviceps

• Bulgarian: мораво рогче n (moravo rogče)
• Czech: paličkovice f
• French: ergot (fr) m
• Gagauz: rastık
• Galician: cornizó (gl) m, cornecho m, dentón (gl) m, caruncho (gl) m
• German: Mutterkornpilz m
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἐμπυρισμός m (empurismós)

• Hungarian: anyarozs (hu), varjúköröm (hu)
• Ingrian: hiirensitta
• Irish: eargót m
• Komi-Zyrian: ужпинь (užpiń)
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari: уржава (uržava), шемуржа (šemurža)

  Western Mari: ӓвӓ ыржа (ävä yrža), ӓвӓвӹрцӹ (ävävÿrcÿ)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: meldrøye

  Nynorsk: mjølauk m, mjøldryge f, moldaks n

• Polish: buławinka f
• Portuguese: cravagem f
• Romanian: corn-de-secară (ro)
• Russian: спорынья́ (ru) f (sporynʹjá)
• Spanish: cornezuelo (es) m, tizón (es) m
• Udmurt: мумыӟег (mumydźeg), анайӟег (anajdźeg), ӟеганай (dźeganaj), ужӟег (uždźeg)
• Welsh: mall rhyg m, malltod rhyg m, mallryg m

deformed grain

• Catalan: banya del sègol f
• Czech: námel (cs) m
• Finnish: torajyvä (fi), härkäjyvä
• French: ergot (fr) m
• Galician: cornizó (gl) m, cornello m, dentón (gl) m, caruncho (gl) m
• German: Mutterkorn (de) n
• Polish: sporysz m
• Portuguese: cravagem f
• Spanish: cornezuelo (es) m, tizón (es) m

See also

• sclerotium

References

• “ergot”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Further reading

• ergot on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Grote, Roget, Trego, etrog, grote, regot

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French argot, considered from a substrate root *arg- related to thorns and pointy things widespread in Western Romance, for related forms see Galician argana (“awn”), Spanish aulaga (“gorse”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛʁ.ɡo/, (older, now chiefly Belgium) /ɛʁ.ɡɔ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -o, -ɔ

Noun

ergot m (plural ergots)

1. spur of a male member of Galliformes
2. ergot

Descendants

• → English: ergot
• → Romanian: ergot

Further reading

• “ergot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French ergot.

Noun

ergot n (plural ergoturi)

1. ergot

Declension

Declension of ergot

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) ergot	ergotul	(niște) ergoturi	ergoturile
genitive/dative	(unui) ergot	ergotului	(unor) ergoturi	ergoturilor
vocative	ergotule		ergoturilor