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samphire

 - 4 dictionary results

sam⋅phire

  [sam-fahyuhr]
Use samphire in a Sentence
–noun
1. a European succulent plant, Crithmum maritimum, of the parsley family, having compound leaves and small, whitish flowers, growing in clefts of rock near the sea.
2. glasswort.
Origin:
1535–45; earlier sampiere < MF (herbe de) Saint Pierre (herb of) Saint Peter

glass⋅wort

  [glas-wurt, -wawrt, glahs-]
–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.
Cite This Source Link To samphire
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.]
sam·phire   (sām'fīr')   
n.  

  1. See glasswort.

  2. An Old World coastal plant (Crithmum maritimum) having fleshy compound leaves and small white flowers grouped in compound umbels.


[Alteration of French herbe de Saint Pierre, from Saint Pierre, Saint Peter.]
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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