purslane
Americannoun
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a low, trailing plant, Portulaca oleracea, having yellow flowers, used as a salad plant and potherb.
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any other plant of the purslane family.
noun
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a weedy portulacaceous plant, Portulaca oleracea, with small yellow flowers and fleshy leaves, which are used in salads and as a potherb
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any of various similar or related plants, such as sea purslane and water purslane
Etymology
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
Vocabulary lists containing purslane
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Meanwhile, Ziglar harvested a bunch of purslane from the couple’s large plot across the garden.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2025
Across the garden plots: chrysanthemum leaves, purple sugar peas, goji berries and common purslane, a leafy vegetable that is eaten stir-fried or put into salads.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023
Even in summer, Reem cycles in grilled or raw corn, pomegranate seeds, pickled cherries, or fresh purslane.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2022
Specifically, the meticulously rendered purslane, creeping Charlie and ragweed are translations of those Assiff observed last year at All Faiths Cemetery in Queens, where the particularly robust overgrowth flourished under negligence.
From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
The room faced the yard and overlooked the long, sloping garden, which was filled with flowers: bright red geraniums, sweet-smelling mignonette, and purslane with red, orange, yellow, and pink blossoms.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
