Editing Primula veris (section)

==Names==
The common name ''cowslip'' may derive from the old English for cow dung, probably because the plant was often found growing amongst the manure in cow pastures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.word-origins.com/definition/cowslip.html|title=Cowslip|last=Anon|work=Word-Origins|publisher=Word-Origins.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718083004/http://www.word-origins.com/definition/cowslip.html|archive-date=18 July 2011|access-date=8 May 2010}}</ref> An alternative derivation simply refers to slippery or boggy ground; again, a typical habitat for this plant.<ref name=SOED>{{cite book|title=Shorter Oxford English dictionary, 6th ed.|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-0199206872|pages=3804}}</ref> The name "cowslop" derived from Old English still exists in some dialects, but the politer-sounding cowslip became standard in the 16th century.<ref>Grigson G. 1974. ''A Dictionary of English Plant Names''. Allen Lane. {{ISBN|0-71-390442-9}}</ref>

The species name ''veris'' ('of spring', referring to the season) is the genitive case form of Latin {{Lang|la|ver}} ('spring').<ref>{{L&S|ver|ref}}</ref> However, [[Primula vulgaris|primrose]] ''P. vulgaris'', flowers earlier, from December to May in the British Isles.<ref name=CTW>{{cite book |first1=A.R. |last1=Clapham |first2=T.G. |last2=Tutin |first3=E.F. |last3=Warburg |title=Excursion flora of the British isles |date=1981 |edition=3 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, U.K. |isbn=0521232902 }}</ref>{{rp|240}}

Other historical common names include cuy lippe, herb peter, paigle or pagil,<ref>Notes to Beachy Head; with Other Poems: Charlotte Smith, 1807</ref> peggle, key flower, key of heaven, fairy cups, petty mulleins, crewel, buckles, palsywort, and plumrocks.<ref>[http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cowsl112.html Cowslip], from ''A Modern Herbal''</ref>