Obs. Forms: 5 affadille, affodylle, 5–6 affadyll(e, 6 affodyl, 7 affodille, -dill, -dil. [ad. med.L. affodillus (Prom. Parv., Turner Lib., and Bailey, vol. II.), prob. for late L. *asfodillus, *asphodillus, for cl. L. asphodilus (Pallad.) and asphodelus; a. Gr. ἀσφοδελός. The form *asphodillus (whence Ital. asfodillo) was prob. due, as in some other words, to the simulation of a diminutive ending. Another med. L. corruption was affrodillus (Turner Lib.), whence Fr. afrodille.]
1. Name of a liliaceous genus of plants, Asphodel, or King’s Spear (Asphodelus, incl. Anthericum), natives of the south of Europe, and grown as garden flowers and medicinal herbs.
(In this sense Daffodill, and Daffadilly, are mentioned as variant forms of Affodil as early as 1538 and as late as 1611.)
c. 1420. Pallad. on Husb., I. 921. With affadille upclose her hooles alle; Thai [field mice] gnawe it oute, but dede downe shal thai falle.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., Affodylle herbe [v.r. affadylle], affodillus, albucea. [v.r. affadilla.]
1483. Cathol. Angl., An Affodylle; Affodillus, harba.
1530. Palsgr., 193/2. Affadyll a yelowe floure—affrodille. [Asphodelus luteus.]
1538. Turner, Libellus, A 3. Asphodelus a latinis hasta regia & albucum dicitur, a barbaris & latine lingue corruptoribus aphrodillus & affodillus, ab anglis Affadyll & Daffadilly.
1578. Lyte, Dodoens, 647. The flower … is called in Greeke ανθερικός, Anthericos; and in Latine, as Plinie sayth, Albucum: in English also Affodyl and Daffodyll. [The modern Daffodil appears at p. 214 as Yellow Crowbels, Yellow Narcissus, Bastarde Narcissus.]
1611. Cotgr., Affrodille, th’ Affodille, or Asphodill flower. Ibid., Asphodele, the Daffadill, Affodill, or Asphodill flower. Ibid., Hache royalle, the Affodille, or Asphodill flower; especially (the small kind thereof called) the Speare for a King.
1615. Markham, Eng. Housewife, 28. You must be carefull that you take not Daffodil for Affodil.
2. Applied, by confusion, to a species of Narcissus. In this sense the variant DAFFODIL (q.v.) became almost from the first the accepted form; so that eventually Affodill was confined to Asphodelus, and Daffodil to Narcissus.
1551. Turner, Herbal, I. b iij b. I could neuer se thys herb [asphodelos—-ryght affodill] in England but ones, for the herbe that the people calleth here affodill or daffodill is a kynd of narcissus.
