agnus castus

noun

A tree, Vitex agnus-castus, formerly believed to preserve chastity.

Similar
chaste tree
OriginAncient Greek ἄγνος ← Latin castus →
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Meanings

nounagnus castus (plural agnus castuses)

plural agnus castuses

  1. A tree, Vitex agnus-castus, formerly believed to preserve chastity.

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

    1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 2, section 4, member 1, subsection 3

    Synonyms: chaste tree

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA tree, Vitex agnus-castus, formerly believed to preserve chastity.

Similar
chaste tree
Also see
chaste tree

Origin

  1. Latincastus“chaste”
  2. Ancient Greekἄγνος
  3. Englishagnus castus

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

More words from Ancient Greek, Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

agnus castus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agnus%20castus

MLA

“agnus castus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agnus%20castus. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “agnus castus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agnus%20castus.

Source: agnus castus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.