duckweed

American  

[duhk-weed] / ˈdʌkˌwid /

noun

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

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duckweed British  

/ ˈdʌkˌwiːd /

noun

1. 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

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Etymology

Origin of duckweed

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

duckweed

Tia-Lynn Ashman and Martin Turcotte, evolutionary ecologists at the University of Pittsburgh, have also studied polyploidy in duckweed populations.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 23, 2023

As part of their environmental science class, high school juniors and seniors were building a natural filtration system to clear out duckweed, prevalent in the wetlands they are working to restore.

From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2023

Scientists have figured out how to coax copious amounts of oil from duckweed, one of nature’s fastest-growing aquatic plants.

From Scientific American ● Jan. 25, 2023

The drama is heightened by the blanket of duckweed that has turned the placid, still water a surreal shade of green.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 17, 2021

She gathers fast the large duckweed, From valley stream that southward flows; And for the pondweed to the pools Left on the plains by floods she goes.

From The Wisdom of Confucius with Critical and Biographical Sketches by Wilson, Epiphanius