groundsel

¹ American  

[graund-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.

---

groundsel ² American  

[graund-suhl] / ˈgraʊnd səl /

noun

1. groundsill.

---

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

---

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

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

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

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

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

“I can do with a little groundsel too,” she said, as though the other subject had been threshed out.

From The Rustle of Silk by Cosmo Hamilton

Inland, to the rear of the headland, lay fields of oats and barley, interspersed with patches of yellow groundsel, and the blaze of myriad poppies.

From Lady Cassandra by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

In that case, a whole week of mowing, of clipping edges, of picking lavender, and gathering groundsel for the cage-birds!

From Doctor Cupid by Rhoda Broughton

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---