A small creeping European plant with heart-shaped leaves that was historically used in medicine and has a distinctive spicy, peppery smell.
From Arabic 'assarum' blended with 'bacca' (Latin for berry), referring both to the plant's leaves and fruit; the word traveled from Arabic through medieval Latin into European languages.
Medieval doctors prescribed asarabacca for sneezing and headaches because they believed its strong smell could 'clear the head'—and it actually contains compounds that do affect mucous membranes, so they weren't entirely wrong!
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