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broomrape

[broom-reyp, broo m-]
noun
  1. any of various parasitic plants, especially of the genus Orobanche, living on the roots of broom and other plants.
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Compare broomrape family.

Origin of broomrape

1570–80; partial translation of Medieval Latin rāpum genistae tuber of the broom plant
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for broomrape

Historical Examples

  • The Broomrape is now becoming a very pernicious clover weed, especially in lighter soils.

    Science and Practice in Farm Cultivation

    James Buckman

  • We have also the pest of broomrape; and if badly infested by this weed, great destruction follows to the crop.

    The Khedive's Country

    George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for broomrape

broomrape

noun
  1. any orobanchaceous plant of the genus Orobanche : brownish small-flowered leafless parasites on the roots of other plants, esp on legumes
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Word Origin

C16: adaptation and partial translation of Medieval Latin rāpum genistae tuber (hence: root nodule) of Genista (a type of broom plant)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012