ˈalə.trə̇s noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek, female slave who ground meal, noble Athenian maiden who prepared offering cakes, from alein, aletreuein to grind; from the floury appearance of the blossoms
: a small genus of bitter-rooted herbs (family Liliaceae) found in eastern No. America and Asia and having basal leaves and small white or yellow bracted racemose flowers — see colicroot