''Hygrocybe'' was first published in 1821 by Swedish [[mycologist]] [[Elias Magnus Fries]] as a subsection of ''[[Agaricus]]'' and in 1871 was raised to the rank of genus by [[Paul Kummer|Kummer]]. In several papers, [[Petter Adolf Karsten|Karsten]] and [[William Murrill|Murrill]] used the name ''Hydrocybe'', but this is now taken as an orthographic variant of ''Hygrocybe''. The generic name is derived from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] gtyttdyrytῦγρὁς (= moist) + κυβη (= head).<ref name=Rea1922/><ref>{{cite book|last=Cornelis|first=Schrevel|title=Schrevelius' Greek lexicon, tr. into Engl. with numerous corrections|year=1826|pages=184–186|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2eUIAAAAQAAJ&dq=%CE%BA%CF%8D%CE%B2%CE%B7&pg=PA358|access-date=2011-10-04}}</ref>
ῦγρὁς (= moist) + κυβη (= head).<ref name=Rea1922/><ref>{{cite book|last=Cornelis|first=Schrevel|title=Schrevelius' Greek lexicon, tr. into Engl. with numerous corrections|year=1826|pages=184–186|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2eUIAAAAQAAJ&dq=%CE%BA%CF%8D%CE%B2%CE%B7&pg=PA358|access-date=2011-10-04}}</ref>
Despite its comparatively early publication, the genus ''Hygrocybe'' was not widely accepted until the 1970s, most previous authors treating it as a synonym of ''[[Hygrophorus]]'', a related genus of [[ectomycorrhizal]] agarics.<ref name=Rea1922/><ref name=Smith1963/>
===Current status===
Recent [[Molecular phylogenetics|Poomolecular]] research, based on [[cladistic]] analysis of [[DNA sequences]], has shown that ''Hygrocybe'' ''[[sensu lato]]'' is [[paraphyletic]] and does not form a single [[clade]] within the Hygrophoraceae. As a result, many species formerly referred to ''Hygrocybe'' have been transferred to the genera ''[[Chromosera]]'', ''[[Cuphophyllus]]'', ''[[Gliophorus]]'', ''[[Gloioxanthomyces]]'', ''[[Humidicutis]]'', ''[[Neohygrocybe]]'', or ''[[Porpolomopsis]]''.<ref name=Kovalenko/><ref name=Matheny2006/><ref name=Babos2011/><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lodge|first1=D. Jean|last2=Padamsee|first2=Mahajabeen|last3=Matheny|first3=P. Brandon|last4=Aime|first4=M. Catherine|last5=Cantrell|first5=Sharon A.|last6=Boertmann|first6=David|last7=Kovalenko|first7=Alexander|last8=Vizzini|first8=Alfredo|last9=Dentinger|first9=Bryn T. M.|date=2014-01-01|title=Molecular phylogeny, morphology, pigment chemistry and ecology in Hygrophoraceae (Agaricales)|journal=Fungal Diversity|language=en|volume=64|issue=1|pages=1–99|doi=10.1007/s13225-013-0259-0|s2cid=220615978|issn=1560-2745|url=https://iris.unito.it/bitstream/2318/136089/1/1205754_Molecular%20phylogeny.pdf|doi-access=free}}</ref> This leaves ''Hygrocybe'' ''[[sensu stricto]]'' as a smaller but more cohesive genus of species related to the [[type species|type]], ''[[Hygrocybe conica]]''.
