ergot

noun

er·​got ˈər-gət How to pronounce ergot (audio) -ˌgät How to pronounce ergot (audio)
1
: the black or dark purple sclerotium of fungi (genus Claviceps) that occurs as a club-shaped body replacing the seed of a grass (such as rye)
also : a fungus bearing ergots
2
: a disease of rye and other cereals caused by an ergot fungus
3
a
: the dried sclerotia of an ergot fungus grown on rye and containing several alkaloids (such as ergonovine and ergotamine)
b
: any of such alkaloids used medicinally for their contractile effect on smooth muscle (as of the uterus or blood vessels)
ergotic
(ˌ)ər-ˈgä-tik How to pronounce ergot (audio)
adjective

Examples of ergot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The ergot theory, despite being debunked within a year of being published, has continued to spread and thrive like fungus on rye. — Jennifer Byrne, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2026 Some modern historians have attributed it to ergot, a fungus that affects rye and can produce effects similar to ingesting LSD. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 June 2026 This is the name for a polypeptide alkaloid that is a derivative of ergot and mimics the activity of dopamine according to CNN. — Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 29 May 2026 Priestesses of Demeter may have used ergot to brew kykeon for the Eleusinian Mysteries. — Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for ergot

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, "spur on a rooster, a similar growth on another bird or mammal, fungal sclerotium resembling a rooster's spur," earlier also argot, going back to Old French argoz (subject case) "spur of a bird or animal," derivative from a Gallo-Romance base *arg- "spine, spiny or thorny plant," probably from a pre-Latin substratal language

Note: For a list and discussion of Romance dialect words based on *arg- see Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, vol. 25, pp. 182-88.

First Known Use

1683, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ergot was in 1683

Rhymes for ergot

See All Rhymes for ergot

Browse Nearby Words

ergosterol
ergot
ergotamine
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ergot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ergot. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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Medical Definition

ergot

noun
er·​got ˈər-gət How to pronounce ergot (audio) -ˌgät How to pronounce ergot (audio)
1
a
: the black or dark purple sclerotium of fungi of the genus Claviceps that occurs as a club-shaped body which replaces the seed of various grasses (as rye)
b
: any fungus of the genus Claviceps
2
: a disease of rye and other cereals caused by fungi of the genus Claviceps and characterized by the presence of ergots in the seed heads compare ergotism
3
a
: the dried sclerotial bodies of an ergot fungus grown on rye and containing several ergot alkaloids
b
: ergot alkaloid
ergotic
(ˌ)ər-ˈgät-ik How to pronounce ergot (audio)
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on ergot

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ergot

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