Nipplewort got its name from its closed flower buds, which resemble the shape of nipples. The suffix "-wort" comes from the Old English word for a root or herb used for healing.

In medieval and early modern herbal medicine, a belief called the doctrine of signatures held that God marked plants with physical "signs" to show what human ailments they could cure.

Because the plant's unopened buds looked like nipples, herbalists and apothecaries used extracts from the plant to treat nursing ailments like cracked nipples, breast ulcers, and to help dry up or regulate milk flow. ~ Wednesday Weed - Nipplewort

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