woadwaxen

American  

[wohd-wak-suhn] / ˈwoʊdˌwæk sən /

noun

1. an ornamental Eurasian shrub, Genista tinctoria, whose flowers yield a yellow dye formerly used with woad to make a permanent green dye.

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woadwaxen British  

/ ˈwəʊdˌwæksən /

noun

1. another name for dyer's-greenweed

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Etymology

Origin of woadwaxen

1325–75; Middle English wodewaxen, equivalent to wode wood ¹ + waxen grown (past participle of waxen to wax ² ); replacing Middle English wodewax, Old English wuduweax

Example Sentences

I did that now, cutting off the lane to gather some woadwaxen for his yellow.

From Literature

“Come back with a whole bag of woadwaxen.”

From Literature

The rain was nothing but a heavy mist by the time we set sail, armed with a shovel and canvas bags to carry back whatever we might find, even if it was only woadwaxen.

From Literature