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• dead nettle
  dead nettle

  noun

  any of various plants belonging to the genus Lamium, of the mint family, native to the Old World, having opposite leaves and clusters of small reddish or white flowers.
• dead-nettle
  dead-nettle

  noun

  any Eurasian plant of the genus Lamium, such as L. alba (white dead-nettle), having leaves resembling nettles but lacking stinging hairs: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

dead nettle

American  

noun

1. any of various plants belonging to the genus Lamium, of the mint family, native to the Old World, having opposite leaves and clusters of small reddish or white flowers.

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dead-nettle British  

noun

1. any Eurasian plant of the genus Lamium, such as L. alba (white dead-nettle), having leaves resembling nettles but lacking stinging hairs: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

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Etymology

Origin of dead nettle

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dead nettle dead-nettle

I had succeeded in gathering some labiates, the dead nettle, the pyramidal bell-flower and the wild thyme, when in the midst of my occupation, I heard the trot of a horse.

From The Lock and Key Library The most interesting stories of all nations: French novels by Hawthorne, Julian

There is some general resemblance, however, between the real nettles and the so-called dead nettles; the leaves for instance of the white dead nettle are very like those of the stinger.

From Country Walks of a Naturalist with His Children by Houghton, W. (William)

It feeds throughout the winter on the roots of numerous plants, including the dock, dandelion, burdock, white dead nettle, black horehound, and the hop.

From Butterflies and Moths (British) by Furneaux, William S.

In particular the discovery that the golden dead-nettle and the zebra plant use a dual-function flavin-containing monooxygenase, rather than two different cytochrome P450 enzymes as in grasses, was completely unexpected.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2023

With Lamium maculatum or spotted dead-nettle, the affinity is so close that even Bentham united the two in a single species, considering the ordinary dead-nettle only as a variety of the dappled purple type.

From Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation by Vries, Hugo de

The family of the labiates seems to be essentially rich in terminal pelories, as for instance in the wild sage or Salvia and the dead-nettle or Lamium.

From Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation by Vries, Hugo de

And then again they struck into a by-lane with tall hedges, the banks underneath which were bright with stitchwort and speedwell and white dead-nettle.

From Prince Fortunatus by Black, William

A red dead-nettle, a mauve thistle, white and pink bramble flowers, a white strawberry, a little yellow tormentil, a broad yellow dandelion, narrow hawkweeds, and blue scabious, are all in flower in the lane.

From Field and Hedgerow Being the Last Essays of Richard Jefferies by Jefferies, Richard