bollan bane

English

Etymology

From Manx bollan bane (“white wort”), from bollan (“herb, wort”) + bane (“white”); compare Scottish Gaelic bàn.

Noun

bollan bane (uncountable)

  1. Mugwort.
    • 1999, Herbert H. Wernecke, Celebrating Christmas Around the World, page 108:
      […] at the feet of the monk[,] he dropped iron, salt and bollan bane.
    • 2005, Benedict Le Vay, Bradt Eccentric Britain: The Bradt Guide To Britain's Follies, page 89:
      Members of the House of Keys, which makes the island's laws, are very much involved, and the official instruction says the officials should all wear bollan bane. This is not some Dark Age clothing but – and it gets more J K Rowling-ish the more you look into all this – but[sic] a plant called mugwort which is Manx's own way of warding off evil spirits.
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