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

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

The best is chic-weed—ripe—and groundsel, with—when you can get it—a little watercress.

From Aileen Aroon, A Memoir With other Tales of Faithful Friends and Favourites by Stables, Gordon

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

From Lady Cassandra by Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.

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 Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.