Chickweed
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Any of several small-leaved herbs of the genera Cerastium and Stellaria.; especially common chickweed (Stellaria media), a common, edible weed in North America and Europe. uncountable, usually
"I look at the little sprigs of chickweed trembling among the bean shoots and I am strangely moved. Such steadfastness! Such yearning! They want to live too. That is all they ask: to have their little moment in the world."
- 2 any of various plants related to the common chickweed wordnet
- 3 Any of several small-leaved herbs of the genera Cerastium and Stellaria.; Stellaria pro parte uncountable, usually
- 4 any of various plants of the genus Stellaria wordnet
- 5 Any of several small-leaved herbs of the genera Cerastium and Stellaria.; Cerastium (mouse-ear chickweed) uncountable, usually
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Other plants of similar appearance and habit, including those of species:; Ageratum conyzoides uncountable, usually
- 7 Other plants of similar appearance and habit, including those of species:; Holosteum (jagged chickweed) uncountable, usually
- 8 Other plants of similar appearance and habit, including those of species:; Moenchia (upright chickweed) uncountable, usually
- 9 Other plants of similar appearance and habit, including those of species:; Paronychia spp. (nailwort, whitlow-wort) uncountable, usually
Example
More examples"I look at the little sprigs of chickweed trembling among the bean shoots and I am strangely moved. Such steadfastness! Such yearning! They want to live too. That is all they ask: to have their little moment in the world."
Etymology
From Middle English chykwed, chykewode, chike wed, chikewed, chekwede, a variant of chykynwede, chekyn-wede, cheken-wede (literally “chicken-weed”), equivalent to chick + weed. Etymonline claims the name was apparently applied to many plants fit for chicken feed, which were called in Old English cicene mete (“chicken food”).