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Glasswort - 4 dictionary results

glass⋅wort

  [glas-wurt, -wawrt, glahs-]
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–noun
any of several plants of the genus Salicornia, of the goosefoot family, having succulent stems with rudimentary leaves, formerly used, when burned to ashes, as a source of soda for glassmaking.
Also called samphire.

Origin:
1590–1600; glass + wort 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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glass·wort   (glās'wûrt', -wôrt')   
n.  Any of various plants of the genus Salicornia, growing in salt marshes and having fleshy stems and rudimentary, scalelike leaves. Also called samphire.

[From its former use in making glass.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Glasswort

Glass"wort`\, n. (Bot.) A seashore plant of the Spinach family (Salicornia herbacea), with succulent jointed stems; also, a prickly plant of the same family (Salsola Kali), both formerly burned for the sake of the ashes, which yield soda for making glass and soap.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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glasswort

any of about 30 species of succulent herbs constituting the genus Salicornia, of the amaranth family (Amaranthaceae). They are annual plants native to salt marshes around the world. The jointed, bright-green stems turn red or purple in the fall. Glasswort ashes contain large amounts of potash, and the plants were formerly used in glassmaking.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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