peppergrass

[ pep-er-gras, -grahs ]

noun

any pungent plant belonging to the genus Lepidium, of the mustard family, used as a potherb or salad vegetable.

Origin of peppergrass

late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at pepper, grass

Also called pep·per·cress [pep-er-kres]. /ˈpɛp ərˌkrɛs/.

Compare garden cress.

Words Nearby peppergrass

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

How to use peppergrass in a sentence

We prefer early lettuce to cresses or peppergrass, and see no reason for their cultivation, but their rapid growth.
Soil Culture | J. H. Walden
The upland cress, sometimes called peppergrass, is easily grown from seed sown in drills a foot apart.
The Vegetable Garden | Anonymous
Dispose in a nest of peppergrass, water cress, endive or lettuce heart leaves.
Fifty-Two Sunday Dinners | Elizabeth O. Hiller
We ate rose-leaves, also, and grass roots, and smarting peppergrass.
Child Life in Colonial Days | Alice Morse Earle
Chill and serve in nests of peppergrass or lettuce heart leaves.
Fifty-Two Sunday Dinners | Elizabeth O. Hiller

British Dictionary definitions for peppergrass

peppergrass

/ (ˈpɛpəˌɡrɑːs) /

nounUS and Canadian

any of various temperate and tropical aquatic or marsh ferns of the genus Marsilea, having floating leaves consisting of four leaflets: family Marsileaceae
any of several plants of the genus Lepidium, esp L. campestre, of dry regions of Eurasia, having small white flowers and pungent seeds: family Brassicaceae (crucifers): Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): pepperwort

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

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