thimbleweed

American

[thim-buhl-weed] / ˈθɪm bəlˌwid /

noun

any of several plants having a thimble-shaped fruiting head, especially either of two white-flowered North American plants, Anemone riparia or A. virginiana.

thimbleweed British

/ ˈθɪmbəlˌwiːd /

noun

any of various plants having a thimble-shaped fruit, esp an American anemone, Anemone virginiana, and a rudbeckia, Rudbeckia laciniata

"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

Etymology

Origin of thimbleweed

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; thimble + weed ¹

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023