purslane

[purs-leyn, -lin]

noun

a low, trailing plant, Portulaca oleracea, having yellow flowers, used as a salad plant and potherb.Compare purslane family.
any other plant of the purslane family.

Origin of purslane

1350–1400; Middle English purcelan(e) < Middle French porcelaine < Late Latin porcillāgin- (stem of porcillāgō), for Latin porcillāca, variant of portulāca portulaca

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for purslane

Historical Examples of purslane

To him the garden was a battlefield, a contest with purslane and he hated to be worsted.
A Daughter of the Middle Border
Hamlin Garland
The purslane, when fresh and green, is much relished by camels.
The Caravan Route between Egypt and Syria
Ludwig Salvator
Purslane must be sowne in February or March, in a new Moone.
Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics
Richard Folkard
Ephemeral, lasting for a day or less, as the corolla of Purslane, &c.
The Elements of Botany
Asa Gray
This genus is an exception to the other members of the Purslane family, in having more than two sepals.
The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits
Mary Elizabeth Parsons

British Dictionary definitions for purslane

purslane

noun

a weedy portulacaceous plant, Portulaca oleracea, with small yellow flowers and fleshy leaves, which are used in salads and as a potherb
any of various similar or related plants, such as sea purslane and water purslane

Word Origin for purslane

C14 purcelane, from Old French porcelaine, from Late Latin porcillāgō, from Latin porcillāca, variant of portulāca

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