Andre Hartslief
The exact origin of mistel is as vague as the origin of the kissing tradition associated with mistletoe. The word is thought to come from an earlier word which is the Germanic mist (a word for “excrement”) and Germanic mash (“a mixture of malt and water that forms the base to make beer and whiskey”). The argument for “mist” is based on the fact that mistletoe is spread by the droppings of birds that have eaten the berries, while the “mash” suggests the stickiness of the shrub’s berries.
Whatever it may be, it is generally believed that, if, only temporarily that it is a word formed from two misspelled words which is as strange as the romantic association of a couple being caught under the mistletoe berries.
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Did you know about this?
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Yes
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No
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I never knew this before, thanks for the information.
You are most welcome my friend.
Mistletoe is not a shrub but a parasitic plant that grows on trees and extracts water and nutrients from the host plant.
Thank you, Indexer, you are quite correct, it is not a shrub as my source suggested. It is in fact, “a leathery-leaved parasitic plant which grows on apple, oak, and other broadleaf trees and bears white glutinous berries in winter.”