samphire

[ sam-fahyuhr ]

noun
  1. a European succulent plant, Crithmum maritimum, of the parsley family, having compound leaves and small, whitish flowers, growing in clefts of rock near the sea.

Origin of samphire

1
1535–45; earlier sampiere<Middle French (herbe de) Saint Pierre (herb of) Saint Peter

Words Nearby samphire

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

How to use samphire in a sentence

  • There is a sprinkling of little islets along the shore here, one of which is samphire Isle.

    The Cornwall Coast | Arthur L. Salmon
  • In the few marshes on this side we afterward saw samphire, Rosemary, and other plants new to us inlanders.

    Cape Cod | Henry D. Thoreau
  • Here the samphire grew in abundance, and the little girl set to work to fill the two large baskets that stood near.

    A Sailor's Lass | Emma Leslie
  • You'll take me, daddy, won't yer—'cos I've picked a lot of samphire—all that, and another basketful up there?

    A Sailor's Lass | Emma Leslie
  • We found the plain very barren as we passed along it, producing nothing but a kind of samphire, and other such marine plants.

British Dictionary definitions for samphire

samphire

/ (ˈsæmˌfaɪə) /


noun
  1. Also called: rock samphire an umbelliferous plant, Crithmum maritimum, of Eurasian coasts, having fleshy divided leaves and clusters of small greenish-white flowers

  2. golden samphire a Eurasian coastal plant, Inula crithmoides, with fleshy leaves and yellow flower heads: family Asteraceae (composites)

  1. another name for glasswort (def. 1)

  2. any of several other plants of coastal areas

Origin of samphire

1
C16 sampiere, from French herbe de Saint Pierre Saint Peter's herb; perhaps influenced by camphire camphor

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