Word Study
weed
CIDE DICTIONARY
weed, n. [OE. wede, AS. w, w; akin to OS. wādi, giwādi, OFries, w, w, OD. wade, OHG. wāt, Icel. vā, Zend vadh to clothe.].
- A garment; clothing; especially, an upper or outer garment. [1913 Webster]"He on his bed sat, the soft weeds he wore
Put off." [1913 Webster] - An article of dress worn in token of grief; a mourning garment or badge; as, he wore a weed on his hat; especially, in the plural, mourning garb, as of a woman; as, a widow's weeds. [1913 Webster]"In a mourning weed, with ashes upon her head, and tears abundantly flowing." [1913 Webster]
weed, n.
A sudden illness or relapse, often attended with fever, which attacks women in childbed. [1913 Webster]
weed, n. [OE. weed, weod, AS. weód, wiód, akin to OS. wiod, LG. woden the stalks and leaves of vegetables D. wieden to weed, OS. wiod.].
- Underbrush; low shrubs. [1913 Webster]"One rushing forth out of the thickest weed." [1913 Webster]"A wild and wanton pard . . .
Crouched fawning in the weed." [1913 Webster] - Any plant growing in cultivated ground to the injury of the crop or desired vegetation, or to the disfigurement of the place; an unsightly, useless, or injurious plant. [1913 Webster]" The word has no definite application to any particular plant, or species of plants. Whatever plants grow among corn or grass, in hedges, or elsewhere, and are useless to man, injurious to crops, or unsightly or out of place, are denominated weeds." [1913 Webster]"Too much manuring filled that field with weeds." [1913 Webster]
- Fig.: Something unprofitable or troublesome; anything useless. [1913 Webster]
- An animal unfit to breed from. [1913 Webster]
- Tobacco, or a cigar. [1913 Webster]
weed, v. t. [AS. weódian. See 3d Weed.].
- To free from noxious plants; to clear of weeds; as, to weed corn or onions; to weed a garden. [1913 Webster]
- To take away, as noxious plants; to remove, as something hurtful; to extirpate; -- commonly used with
out ; as, to weed out inefficiency from an enterprise. Shak. [1913 Webster]"Wise fathers . . . weeding from their children ill things." [1913 Webster]"Revenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more man's nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out." [1913 Webster] - To free from anything hurtful or offensive. [1913 Webster]"He weeded the kingdom of such as were devoted to Elaiana." [1913 Webster]
- To reject as unfit for breeding purposes. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
weed, n. & v.
--n.
1 a wild plant growing where it is not wanted.
2 a thin weak-looking person or horse.
3 (prec. by the) sl. a marijuana. b tobacco.
--v.
1 tr. a clear (an area) of weeds. b remove unwanted parts from.
2 tr. (foll. by out) a sort out (inferior or unwanted parts etc.) for removal. b rid (a quantity or company) of inferior or unwanted members etc.
3 intr. cut off or uproot weeds.
--n.
1 a wild plant growing where it is not wanted.
2 a thin weak-looking person or horse.
3 (prec. by the) sl. a marijuana. b tobacco.
--v.
1 tr. a clear (an area) of weeds. b remove unwanted parts from.
2 tr. (foll. by out) a sort out (inferior or unwanted parts etc.) for removal. b rid (a quantity or company) of inferior or unwanted members etc.
3 intr. cut off or uproot weeds.
Idiom
weed-grown overgrown with weeds. weed-killer a substance used to destroy weeds.
Derivative
weeder n. weedless adj.
Etymology
OE weod, of unkn. orig.
THESAURUS
weed
Canada thistle, DET, DMT, LSD, Mary Jane, STP, THC, abate, abrade, abstract, acid, amphibian, angiosperm, annual, antidepressant, aquatic plant, ataractic, backset, bate, biennial, black sheep, blemish, bones, boo, brake, burdock, burr, cannabis, chaff, chicory, cosmopolite, crab grass, creeping buttercup, culm, cultivate, culture, curtail, cut, cutting, dandelion, deadwood, deciduous plant, decrease, deduct, delve, depreciate, derogate, detract, dicot, dicotyledon, diethyltryptamine, dig, dimethyltryptamine, diminish, dishwater, disparage, dock, draff, drain, dregs, dress, dust, eat away, ephemeral, erode, evergreen, exotic, extract, fallow, fertilize, file away, filings, flowering plant, force, foreign body, foreign intruder, fungus, gage, gametophyte, ganja, garbage, gash, grass, gymnosperm, hallucinogen, harrow, hash, hashish, hay, hemp, hoe, hogwash, horsetail, husks, hydrophyte, impair, impurity, intruder, jimsonweed, joint, kava, leach, leavings, lees, lessen, list, mallow, marijuana, mescal, mescal bean, mescal button, mescaline, milkweed, mind-altering drug, mind-blowing drug, mind-expanding drug, misfit, monkey wrench, monocot, monocotyl, morning glory seeds, mote, mulch, mustard, nettle, oddball, offal, offscourings, orts, parings, perennial, peyote, plant, plantain, plow, poison ivy, poke, pokeweed, polycot, polycotyl, polycotyledon, pot, potsherds, prune, psilocin, psilocybin, psychedelic, psychic energizer, psychoactive drug, psychochemical, psychotomimetic, purify, rags, rake, raspings, reduce, reefer, refine, refuse, remove, retrench, roach, rub away, scourings, scrap iron, scraps, scum, seed plant, seedling, shards, shavings, shorten, slack, slag, sliver, slop, slops, spade, speck, spermatophyte, splinter, sporophyte, stick, stone, stubble, subduct, subtract, sweepings, swill, take away, take from, tares, tea, thallophyte, thin, thin out, thistle, till, till the soil, tranquilizer, triennial, vascular plant, vegetable, wastage, waste, waste matter, wastepaper, wear away, weed out, weeds, withdraw, workROGET THESAURUS
weed
Unimportance
N unimportance, insignificance, nothingness, immateriality, triviality, levity, frivolity, paltriness, poverty, smallness, vanity, matter of indifference, no object, nothing, nothing to signify, nothing worth speaking of, nothing particular, nothing to boast of, nothing to speak of, small matter, no great matter, trifling matter, mere joke, mere nothing, hardly anything, scarcely anything, nonentity, small beer, cipher, no great shakes, peu de chose, child's play, kinderspiel, toy, plaything, popgun, paper pellet, gimcrack, gewgaw, bauble, trinket, bagatelle, Rickshaw, knickknack, whim-wham, trifle, trifles light as air, yankee notions, trumpery, trash, rubbish, stuff, fatras, frippery, leather or prunello, chaff, drug, froth bubble smoke, cobweb, weed, refuse, scum, joke, jest, snap of the fingers, fudge, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end, pack of nonsense, mere farce, straw, pin, fig, button, rush, bulrush, feather, halfpenny, farthing, brass farthing, doit, peppercorn, jot, rap, pinch of snuff, old son, cent, mill, picayune, pistareen, red cent, minutiae, details, minor details, small fry, dust in the balance, feather in the scale, drop in the ocean, flea-bite, molehill, nine days' wonder, ridiculus mus, flash in the pan, much ado about nothing, unimportant, of little account, of small account, of no account, of little importance, of no importance, immaterial, unessential, nonessential, indifferent, subordinate, mediocre, passable, fair, respectable, tolerable, commonplace, uneventful, mere, common, ordinary, inconsiderable, so-so, insignificant, inappreciable, trifling, trivial, slight, slender, light, flimsy, frothy, idle, puerile, airy, shallow, weak, powerless, frivolous, petty, niggling, piddling, peddling, fribble, inane, ridiculous, farcical, finical, finikin, fiddle-faddle, fingle-fangle, namby-pamby, wishy-washy, milk and water, poor, paltry, pitiful, contemptible, sorry, mean, meager, shabby, miserable, wretched, vile, scrubby, scrannel, weedy, niggardly, scurvy, putid, beggarly, worthless, twopennyhalfpenny, cheap, trashy, catchpenny, gimcrack, trumpery, one- horse, not worth the pains, not worth while, not worth mentioning, not worth speaking of, not worth a thought, not worth a curse, not worth a straw, beneath notice, unworthy of notice, beneath regard, unworthy of regard, beneath consideration, unworthy of consideration, de lana caprina, vain, slightly, rather, somewhat, pretty well, tolerably, for aught one cares, Int, no matter!, pish!, tush!, tut!, pshaw!, pugh!, pooh, pooh-pooh!, fudge!, bosh!, humbug!, fiddlestick, fiddlestick end!, fiddlededee!, never mind!, n'importe!, what signifies it, what boots it, what of it, what of that, what matter, what's the odds, a fig for', stuff!, nonsense!, stuff and nonsense, magno conatu magnas nugas, le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle, it matters not, it does not signify, it is of no consequence, it is of no importance, elephantus non capit murem, tempete dans un verre d'eau.Cleanness
VB be clean, render clean, clean, cleanse, mundify, rinse, wring, flush, full, wipe, mop, sponge, scour, swab, scrub, brush up, wash, lave, launder, buck, absterge, deterge, decrassify, clear, purify, depurate, despumate, defecate, purge, expurgate, elutriate, lixiviate, edulcorate, clarify, refine, rack, filter, filtrate, drain, strain, disinfect, fumigate, ventilate, deodorize, whitewash, castrate, emasculate, sift, winnow, pick, weed, comb, rake, brush, sweep, rout out, clear out, sweep out, make a clean sweep of.Exclusion
VB be excluded from, exclude, bar, leave out, shut out, bar out, reject, repudiate, blackball, lay apart, put apart, set apart, lay aside, put aside, relegate, segregate, throw overboard, strike off, strike out, neglect, banish, separate, pass over, omit, garble, eliminate, weed, winnow, be secluded, live secluded, keep aloof, stand, hold oneself aloof, keep in the background, stand in the background, keep snug, shut oneself up, deny oneself, seclude oneself creep into a corner, rusticate, aller planter ses choux, retire, retire from the world, take the veil, abandon, sport one's oak, cut, cut dead, refuse to associate with, refuse to acknowledge, look cool upon, turn one's back upon, shut the door upon, repel, blackball, excommunicate, exclude, exile, expatriate, banish, outlaw, maroon, ostracize, proscribe, cut off from, send to Coventry, keep at arm's length, draw a cordon round, depopulate, dispeople, unpeople.Fewness
VB be few, render few, reduce, diminish the number, weed, eliminate, cull, thin, decimate.Vegetable
N vegetable, vegetable kingdom, flora, verdure, plant, tree, shrub, bush, creeper, herb, herbage, grass, annual, perennial, biennial, triennial, exotic, timber, forest, wood, woodlands, timberland, hurst, frith, holt, weald, park, chase, greenwood, brake, grove, copse, coppice, bocage, tope, clump of trees, thicket, spinet, spinney, underwood, brushwood, scrub, boscage, bosk, ceja, chaparal, motte, arboretum, bush, jungle, prairie, heath, heather, fern, bracken, furze, gorse, whin, grass, turf, pasture, pasturage, turbary, sedge, rush, weed, fungus, mushroom, toadstool, lichen, moss, conferva, mold, growth, alfalfa, alfilaria, banyan, blow, blowth, floret, petiole, pin grass, timothy, yam, yew, zinnia, foliage, branch, bough, ramage, stem, tigella, spray, leaf, flower, blossom, bine, flowering plant, timber tree, fruit tree, pulse, legume, vegetable, vegetal, vegetive, vegitous, herbaceous, herbal, botanic, sylvan, silvan, arborary, arboreous, arborescent, arborical, woody, grassy, verdant, verdurous, floral, mossy, lignous, ligneous, wooden, leguminous, vosky, cespitose, turf-like, turfy, endogenous, exogenous, green-robed senators of mighty woods, this is the forest primeval.Agriculture
VB cultivate, till the soil, farm, garden, sow, plant, reap, mow, cut, manure, dress the ground, dig, delve, dibble, hoe, plough, plow, harrow, rake, weed, lop and top, backset.Pungency
N pungency, piquance, piquancy, poignancy haut-gout, strong taste, twang, race, sharpness, acrimony, roughness, unsavoriness, mustard, cayenne, caviare, seasoning, niter, saltpeter, brine (saltiness), carbonate of ammonia, sal ammoniac, sal volatile, smelling salts, hartshorn (acridity), dram, cordial, nip, nicotine, tobacco, snuff, quid, smoke, segar, cigar, cigarette, weed, fragrant weed, Indian weed, Cavendish, fid, negro head, old soldier, rappee, stogy, pungent, strong, high-, full-flavored, high-tasted, high-seasoned, gamy, sharp, stinging, rough, piquant, racy, biting, mordant, spicy, seasoned, hot, hot as pepper, peppery, vellicating, escharotic, meracious, acrid, acrimonious, bitter, rough, unsavory.For further exploring for "weed" in Webster Dictionary Online
