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pigweed

 - 6 dictionary results

pig⋅weed

  [pig-weed]
Use pigweed in a Sentence
–noun
1. any goosefoot of the genus Chenopodium, esp. C. album.
2. any of certain amaranths, as Amaranthus retroflexus.
Origin:
1795–1805; pig 1 + weed 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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am·a·ranth   (ām'ə-rānth')   
n.  

  1. Any of various annuals of the genus Amaranthus having dense green or reddish clusters of tiny flowers and including several weeds, ornamentals, and food plants. Also called pigweed.

  2. An imaginary flower that never fades.

  3. A deep reddish purple to dark or grayish, purplish red.

  4. A dark red to purple azo dye.


[New Latin Amaranthus, genus name, alteration of Latin amarantus, from Greek amarantos, unfading : a-, not; see a-1 + marainein, to wither; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]
goose·foot   (gōōs'fŏŏt')   
n.   pl. goose·foots
Any of various weeds of the genus Chenopodium, having small greenish flowers. Also called pigweed.

[From the shape of its leaves.]
pig·weed   (pĭg'wēd')   
n.  

  1. See goosefoot.

  2. See amaranth.

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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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pig·weed
Pronunciation: 'pig-"wEd
Function: noun
: any of several plants of the genus Amaranthus (as A. retroflexus andA. hybridus) producing pollen that is an important hay fever allergen
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Encyclopedia

pigweed

any of several coarse annual plants of cosmopolitan distribution that are often troublesome weeds. Several of them belong to the genus Amaranthus, of the family Amaranthaceae. Prostrate pigweed, or mat amaranth (A. graecizans), grows along the ground surface with stems rising at the tips; spiny pigweed, or spiny amaranth (A. spinosus), has spines at the base of the leafstalks; and rough pigweed, or redroot (A. retroflexus), is a stout plant up to 3 metres (about 10 feet) tall.

Learn more about pigweed with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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