groundsel

¹ American  

[ground-suhl] / ˈgraʊnd səl /

noun

1. any composite plant of the genus Senecio, especially S. vulgaris, a common weed having clusters of small yellow disk flowers without rays.

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groundsel ² American  

[ground-suhl] / ˈgraʊnd səl /

noun

1. groundsill.

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groundsel British  

/ ˈɡraʊnsəl /

noun

1. 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

2. a shrub, Baccharis halimifolia, of E North America, with white plumelike fruits: family Asteraceae

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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

See Examples For:

groundsel

He crashed into a hill of groundsel bushes and wedged his way into their dense center.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

It ripped off every groundsel leaf, leaving the limbs bare.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

The poppies blazed their brightest red; the patches of groundsel shone golden in the sun.

From Lady Cassandra by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

But weeds were the most plentiful of all, and chickweed and groundsel enough appeared there to have supplied a whole forest of singing birds.

From The Smuggler: (Vol's I-III) A Tale by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James

Please do not forget to give him his groundsel.

From The Third Class at Miss Kaye's A School Story by Angela Brazil