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mis·tle·toe

(mĭsəl-tō′)

1. Any of various hemiparasitic plants of the order Santalales that grow on the branches of other plants, especially Viscum album of Eurasia and Phoradendron leucarpum of North America, both of which have leathery evergreen leaves and waxy white berries. Extracts of the Eurasian species are sometimes used for medicinal purposes.

2. A sprig of mistletoe, often used as a Christmas decoration.

[Middle English mistelto, back-formation from Old English misteltān (tān, taken for pl. of tā, toe) : mistel, mistletoe; see meigh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + tān, twig.]

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mistletoe

American mistletoe

Phoradendron leucarpum

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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