Either of two plants of the genus Parietaria (family Urticaceae), P. officinalis and P. judaica (pellitory of the wall).
Origin
Late Middle English; earliest use found in Geoffrey Chaucer (c1340–1400), poet and administrator. From (i) Anglo-Norman paritarie and Middle French paritaire (13th cent. in Old French; Middle French (Namur) peritaire, Middle French, French pariétaire)).