groundsel
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
-
any of certain plants of the genus Senecio, esp S. vulgaris, a Eurasian weed with heads of small yellow flowers: family Asteraceae (composites) See also ragwort
-
a shrub, Baccharis halimifolia, of E North America, with white plumelike fruits: family Asteraceae
Etymology
Origin of groundsel
before 900; Middle English grundeswili ( e ), groundeswel, Old English grundeswelge, gundeswelge; compare Old English gund pus, swelgan to swallow, absorb (from its use in medicine); the -r- is by folk etymology from association with ground 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It ripped off every groundsel leaf, leaving the limbs bare.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
He crashed into a hill of groundsel bushes and wedged his way into their dense center.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
The canary-shop was found, and two canaries and a bird-cage were bought, together with packets of seed and a bird's bath and a pennyworth of groundsel and plantains.
From Sinister Street, vol. 1 by Compton MacKenzie
These were the weeds, the dusty groundsel of words; Ynys was her own vocabulary, every part of her a part of speech....
From Mushroom Town by Oliver Onions
The seeds of flax, plantain, peppergrass, basil, sage, dracocephalum, groundsel, drop-seed grass, and many others less familiar, possess this peculiarity.
From Seed Dispersal by W. J. (William James) Beal
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