Standard Lemma guide

loosestrife

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: L UW1 S S T R AY2 F Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: L UW1 S T R AY2 F Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of certain flowering plants of the genera Lythrum and Lysimachia, which are in different taxonomic families.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • 1919, Ronald Firbank, Valmouth, Duckworth, hardback edition, page 91, He had a suit of summer mufti, and a broad-brimmed blue beaver hat looped with leaves broken from the hedgerows in the lanes, and a Leander scarf tucked full of flowers: loosestrife, meadowrue, orchis, ragged-robin.
  • 2013, Théodore de Saussure, Jane F. Hill (translator), Chemical Research on Plant Growth, [Recherches chimiques sur la Végétation], page 22, I grew some peas, loosestrifes, and fleabanes [“inules”] in profound darkness, beneath two identical receptacles filled with atmospheric air.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

any of various herbs and subshrubs of the genus Lysimachia

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: herb, herbaceous plant

Narrower terms: gooseneck loosestrife, Lysimachia clethroides Duby, yellow pimpernel, Lysimachia nemorum, fringed loosestrife, Lysimachia ciliatum, moneywort, creeping Jenny, creeping Charlie, Lysimachia nummularia, yellow loosestrife, garden loosestrife, Lysimachia vulgaris, swamp candles, Lysimachia terrestris, whorled loosestrife, Lysimachia quadrifolia

3

noun

Meaning 3

any of numerous herbs and subshrubs of the genus Lythrum

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: subshrub, suffrutex

Narrower terms: purple loosestrife, spiked loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, grass poly, hyssop loosestrife, Lythrum hyssopifolia

History

Etymology

Calque of Ancient Greek λυσιμάχειον (lusimákheion), as if from λύσις (lúsis, “loosening”) + μάχη (mákhē, “battle, strife”).

Across languages

Translations

31 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 千屈菜 (qiānqūcài) — Lythrum
  • Dutch: kattenstaart — Lythrum
  • Finnish: rantakukka — Lythrum
  • French: salicaire — Lythrum
  • German: Blutweiderich — Lythrum
  • Greek: λύθρο (lýthro) — Lythrum
  • Polish: krwawnica — Lythrum
  • Russian: дербе́нник (derbénnik) — Lythrum
  • Russian: подбере́жник (podberéžnik) — Lythrum
  • Vietnamese: thiên khuất — Lythrum
  • Bulgarian: лени́вче (lenívče) — Lysimachia
  • Chinese Mandarin: 珍珠菜 (zhēnzhūcài) — Lysimachia
  • Dutch: wederik — Lysimachia
  • Finnish: alpi — Lysimachia
  • French: lysimaque — Lysimachia
  • German: Gilbweiderich — Lysimachia
  • Greek: λυσιμάχειο (lysimácheio) — Lysimachia
  • Ancient Greek: λυσιμάχειον (lusimákheion) — Lysimachia
  • Icelandic: útlagi — Lysimachia
  • Polish: tojeść — Lysimachia
  • Russian: вербе́йник (verbéjnik) — Lysimachia
  • Serbo-Croatian: проти́вак — Lysimachia
  • Serbo-Croatian: мѐтӣљка — Lysimachia
  • Serbo-Croatian: мѐтӣљ — Lysimachia
  • Serbo-Croatian: protívak — Lysimachia
  • Serbo-Croatian: mètīljka — Lysimachia
  • Serbo-Croatian: mètīlj — Lysimachia
  • Swedish: lysing — Lysimachia
  • Turkish: karga otu — Lysimachia
  • Vietnamese: trân châu — Lysimachia
  • Welsh: trewyn — Lysimachia