Meaning and Origin
What does the name Darnel mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
Note: ☞ Under darnel our early herbalists comprehended all kinds of cornfield weeds.
Etymology: OE. darnel dernel, of uncertain origin; cf. dial. F. darnelle, Sw. dår-repe; perh. named from a supposed intoxicating quality of the plant, and akin to Sw. dåra to infatuate, OD. door foolish, G. thor fool, and Ee. dizzy
- Weedy annual grass often occurs in grainfields and other cultivated land; seeds sometimes considered poisonous
From Middle English darnel, dernel, from Old Northern French darnelle ( > dialectal French dernelle, darnette), of Germanic origin, possibly Proto-Germanic *darjaną (“to harm, injure”).
Related to Walloon darne, derne (“stunned, dazed, drunk”), Middle Dutch verdarnt, verdaernt (“stunned, dumbfounded, angry”). The association with being dazed or drunkenness is due to the well-known intoxicating effects of the plant.
- A species of ryegrass, Lolium temulentum, often found in wheat fields and often host to a fungus intoxicating to humans and animals.
- Various species of Lolium, especially as a weed in wheat fields.