houseleek

American  

[haus-leek] / ˈhaʊsˌlik /

noun

• houseleeks
  plural

1. Also called old-man-and-old-woman. a succulent plant, Sempervivum tectorum, of the stonecrop family, native to Europe, having reddish flowers and leaves forming dense basal rosettes.

2. any other plant of the genus Sempervivum.

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houseleek British  

/ ˈhaʊsˌliːk /

noun

1. Also called: hen-and-chickens. any Old World crassulaceous plant of the genus Sempervivum, esp S. tectorum, which has a rosette of succulent leaves and pinkish flowers: grows on walls

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• houseleeks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of houseleek

First recorded in 1325–75, houseleek is from the Middle English word howsleke. See house, leek

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

houseleek houseleeks

Ivy for burns, comfrey for fever, foxglove for heart pain, laurel leaves for ringworm, houseleek for the eyes, the web of a spider for bleeding.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

A gravel path led up to the main doorway, which was now shaded by a broad, rustic porch with a thatched roof in which big clumps of houseleek and dwarf iris were growing.

From The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence by Eug?ne Sue

Soft brown mosses, like faded velveteen, formed cushions upon the stone tiling, and tufts of the houseleek or sengreen sprouted from the eaves of the low surrounding buildings.

From Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

In one family it is even fragrant where the flower is not, and a simple houseleek is called 'rhodiola rosea,' because its root-stock has the scent of a rose.

From Proserpina, Volume 1 Studies Of Wayside Flowers by John Ruskin

The flowering houseleek covered the thatched roofs with purple patches.

From Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo

The Leaves.—This is a very thick-leaved juicy plant, not unlike the houseleeks.

From The Botanist's Companion, Volume II by William Salisbury

The red tiles of the houses edging the great square were gilded with yellow houseleeks.

From Wisdom, Wit, and Pathos of Ouida Selected from the Works of Ouida by Ouida

There was a box crowded full of green houseleeks down at the side of the door: they were straying over the edge, and Melissa stooped stiffly down with an air of disapproval at their untidiness.

From Old Friends and New by Sarah Orne Jewett

The roof, where there was any roof, was covered with moss and houseleeks; but the best part of it sustained the storks' nests—that was the only portion which was in tolerable repair.

From The Sand-Hills of Jutland by Mrs. (Anna S.) Bushby

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