duckweed

[ duhk-weed ]

/ ˈdʌkˌwid /

noun

any plant of the family Lemnaceae, especially of the genus Lemna, comprising small aquatic plants that float free on still water.

Nearby words

duckling, duckpin, ducks, ducks and drakes, ducktail, duckweed, duckwheat, ducky, ducommun, ducommun, élie, ducrey's bacillus

Origin of duckweed

1400–50; late Middle English dockewede; so called because eaten by ducks

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for duckweed

Elsewhere we encountered deep pools covered with water lilies and duckweed.
Abb Aubain and Mosaics|Prosper Mrime
In the pale light that glided through the hole, he saw the marble woman lying amidst the reeds and the duckweed.
Abbe Mouret's Transgression|Emile Zola
Behind them was a broad ring of stagnant water covered with duckweed.
Combed Out|Fritz August Voigt
Out of this lagoon, and by this stream, the chief part of the duckweed of the Shiré flows.
A Popular Account of Dr. Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi and Its Tributaries|David Livingstone

At a little distance it has so much the appearance of duckweed as to be recognised with difficulty.
The Book of the Aquarium and Water Cabinet|Shirley Hibberd

British Dictionary definitions for duckweed

duckweed

/ (ˈdʌkˌwiːd) /

noun

any of various small stemless aquatic plants of the family Lemnaceae, esp any of the genus Lemna, that have rounded leaves and occur floating on still water in temperate regions

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