spurge

American  

[spurj] / spɜrdʒ /

noun

1. any of numerous plants of the genus Euphorbia, having a milky juice and flowers with no petals or sepals.

---

spurge British  

/ spɜːdʒ /

noun

1. any of various euphorbiaceous plants of the genus Euphorbia that have milky sap and small flowers typically surrounded by conspicuous bracts. Some species have purgative properties

---

Etymology

Origin of spurge

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French espurge, noun derivative of espurgier to cleanse < Latin expurgāre. See ex- ¹, purge

Example Sentences

Demand for luxury goods has soared after lockdowns as customers spurge on high-end goods.

From Reuters • Feb. 18, 2022

A couple of cross members on the arbor have broken, planks that retain beds have decayed and paths meticulously weeded just a month ago are full of nutsedge and prostrate spurge again.

From Washington Post • Sep. 7, 2021

I am thinking of you, mat-forming little spotted spurge, Euphorbia maculata, scourge of gravel driveways and patio crevices.

From New York Times • May 8, 2020

Hardest hit are City Creek, Emigration, Mill Creek and Neffs canyons, where spurge is proliferating at an exponential rate.

From Washington Times • May 11, 2018

No princes had lived in those wretched hovels, no red-robed bishops, only farmers and laborers whose stories no one had written down, and now they were lost, buried under wild thyme and fast-growing spurge.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke