Laurus, Laurel leaves have been used since time immemorial as a talisman to protect against the evil eye and damage:
"... Laurel leaves wreath attached to the baby's bed was thought to help protect the child from the negative effects of mystical creatures. The more of them - the stronger the protection. It is believed that in this way entire households get rid of the danger of the influence of evil spirits."
'Indo-Europeists' tell us, in their textbooks, that Latin laurus allegedly is... a phonetically transformed Greek daphne: https://www.etymonline.com/word/laurel
This is obviously a fairy-tale (as 1000s of others). Compare LAURUS to the following words with same phonetic stem -LAR-,-LOR-, and meaning related to 'protection' from Spain to Iran, and from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean:
Lares - Roman deities patronizing (protecting) homes, family and community in general;
ларой [laroy] (Ingushian language, Caucasus) - shamanistic: the Guardian spirit; modern: the Guardian angel.
лора, лорадар, лорадер [lora, loradar, lorader] (Ingush) - protection, defence; лоравала [loravala] (Ingush) - to get protected; лораде [lora-de] (Ingush) - to protect, preserve, guard, store (literally, "do the protection");
larru (Basque) - leather, skin, fur;
lorum (Latin) - a belt, bridle made of leather; loratus (Lat.) - tied, fastened with a belt;
lorica (Ital., Lat.) - a chain mail, armor; also shell of a grain; loricato (Ital.) - dressed in armor, in chain mail; zool. a crocodile;
loor, gen. loori (Estonian) - a veil, sheet; loorita(ma) (Est.) - to veil, swaddle; to fog, to obscure;
Flor (Old German), floers (Dutch) - a veil, sheet;
compare to: de-florare, de-florate - of removal of the virgin's natural protection — the hymen (SIC not removal of 'a flower');
floor (Eng.), flor (Old Eng., Old Norse), vloer (Dutch.), vluor (Old Ger.) — floor (a protecting deck);
Flur (Ger.) - a meadow, a field;
flora (Latin) - the entire vegetative cover of the Earth (not only flowers, but any herbs, shrubs, bushes and trees; it is false to state that flora is from flowers - it is flowers, Fr. fleur, Ital. fiori that derive from flora);
[lor, lir, ler] (Persian) - a place with a large number of trees and greenery: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Луры .
Compare also to the following words with the meaning (the semantics) of 'protection':
ларь, ларец [lar', larets] (Old Russian), lår, archaic larr (Swedish) - a box, a dower chest (to keep treasures);
laari (Fin.) - a storage room, a cellar;
lar (Tatar), lars (Kazakh) - a box (for storing grain, flour);
larma (Ingush) - a cellar;
lorry, lorry car (Eng.) - a covered cargo cart, wagon, truck.
N.B. British etymologists do not deduce ANY etymology for LORRY, other than the clear derivative found in a text in the 1570s - 'TO LURRY' with the meaning of "to pull, to push"; for the latter, they do not create any separate article at all: https://www.etymonline.com/word/lorry. They call this 'a science'.
Compare further to:
λαύρα, lavra (Greek) - a monastery (which usually had walls like castles, being a place of protection);
lauer, lovier, lower (in the language of Francs) - a watchtower; also
leovar, lovar, lover, louver, louvre, leower, lower (archaic Germanic) - a castle, a fortress (etymology for Louvre castle: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Луврский_дворец ).
Compare to oikonyms:
Lar, or Lor, Lur, Lir, Ler - an ancient castle in Iran (from which the province of Laristan, or Lurestan, Lorestan, Loristan);
Lori - an ancient castle in Caucasus (built and named long before the Armenians settled there);
Louvre - name of the ex castle or watchtower in Paris;
Lauris - names of communes in France;
Laurentum, ex. Laurus - city in Italy;
Lorenteggio, ex town, now part of Milan;
Florence, It. Firenze, Lat. Flōrentia - city in Italy.
Compare to personal names:
Laura, Lorenzo, Laurentius, Florence, Lawrence, Laurence, Lars, Larisa, Lori, Loria, etc.
N.B. the tradition to give names that serve as a protective talisman (not only with stem -LAR-,-LOR-) continues from times immemorial.
Learn more: https://anti-fasmer.livejournal.com/550624.html