Cud"weed` (k?d"w?d`), n. [Apparently fr. cud + weed, but perh. a corruption of cottonweed; or of cut weed, so called from its use as an application to cuts and chafings.] (Bot.) A small composite plant with cottony or silky stem and leaves, primarily a species of Gnaphalium, but the name is now given to many plants of different genera, as Filago, Antennaria, etc.; cottonweed.