Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A weedy perennial plant (Persicaria maculata) having clusters of small pinkish flowers and usually a dark blotch near the center of the leaf.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) An annual weed (
Polygonum Persicaria ), having a lanceolate leaf with a dark spot in the middle.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
invasive perennial plant Persicaria maculosa
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Possibly from the belief that the blotch was left by the Virgin Mary when she pinched a leaf and rejected it while looking for water pepper, a similar plant that lacks the blotch and is used as a condiment .]
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word lady's thumb.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.