dandelion [LME] The toothed leaves of the dandelion explain the origin of its name. French dent-de-lion means ‘lion’s tooth’. The name came into English in the late Middle Ages. The usual term for the flower in French is now pissenlit, which has a parallel in English pissabed [M16th], another name for the dandelion. The plant was formerly well known for its diuretic properties.