Job's-tears

American  

[johbz-teerz] / ˈdʒoʊbzˈtɪərz /

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) the hard, nearly spherical bracts that surround the female flowers of an Asian grass, Coix lacryma-jobi, and which when ripe are used as beads.

2. (used with a singular verb) the grass itself.

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Job's-tears British  

noun

1. (functioning as singular) a tropical Asian grass, Coix lacryma-jobi , cultivated for its white beadlike modified leaves, which contain edible seeds

2. (functioning as plural) the beadlike structures of this plant, used as rosary or ornamental beads

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Etymology

Origin of Job's-tears

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

The possessive case and its governing noun, combining to form a metaphorical name, should be written with both apostrophe and hyphen; as, Job's-tears, Jew's-ear, bear's-foot, colts-tooth, sheep's-head, crane's-bill, crab's-eyes, hound's-tongue, king's-spear, lady's-slipper, lady's-bedstraw, &c.

From Project Gutenberg