oxalis

[ ok-suh-lis, ok-sal-is ]

/ ˈɒk sə lɪs, ɒkˈsæl ɪs /

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noun

any plant of the genus Oxalis, comprising the wood sorrels.

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Origin of oxalis

1595–1605; <Latin: garden sorrel, sour wine <Greek oxalís, derivative of oxýs sharp

Words nearby oxalis

oxa-, oxacillin, oxalate, oxalic, oxalic acid, oxalis, oxaloacetic acid, oxalosuccinic acid, oxazepam, oxazine, oxblood

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use oxalis in a sentence

The oca (Oxalis tuberosa) is an oval-shaped root; the skin pale red, and the inside white.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests|J. J. von Tschudi
It was oxalis, or sorrel, and sometimes the children nibbled the sour leaves, calling it sour-grass.
A Little Garden Calendar for Boys and Girls|Albert Bigelow Paine
If you can find a dimorphic Oxalis it will be a new point, for all known species are trimorphic or monomorphic.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II|Charles Darwin
I have written to my gardener to send you plants of Oxalis corniculata (and seeds if possible).
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II|Charles Darwin

Another tiny flower is very much like mother's treasured pink oxalis; but is only the bloom of wood sorrel.
To and Through Nebraska|Frances I. Sims Fulton

British Dictionary definitions for oxalis

oxalis

/ (ˈɒksəlɪs, ɒkˈsælɪs) /

noun

any plant of the genus Oxalis, having clover-like leaves which contain oxalic acid and white, pink, red, or yellow flowers: family OxalidaceaeSee also wood sorrel

Word Origin for oxalis

C18: via Latin from Greek: sorrel, sour wine, from oxus acid, sharp

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012