Some etymologies suggest that it is the dandelion's diuretic properties that are being referenced. It's lion's teeth in most Romance languages. Latin aphaca 'dandelion' < Greek αφακη (apakē)'tare'; Greek αππαη (apapē) 'dandelion'. It was ćg-wyrt (lit., egg-wort) in Old English.

The earliest citation I could find for French pisenlit is from the late 15th century book Évangiles des Quenouilles (The Gospel of Spindles), which a few years later translated into English and published as The Gospelles of Dystaues (The Distaff Gospel) by Wynkyn de Worde. Not sure what is was called in French before that or what it was in Norman French. The first citation for Middle English dentdelioun is as a name from the middle 14th century.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.