Standard Lemma guide
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.
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noun
Any plant of the genus Euphorbia, a diverse genus of over 2,000 species.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Any plant of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: euphorbia
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A plant resembling those in genus Euphorbia in some aspect of its appearance.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To emit foam; to froth; said of the emission of yeast from beer during fermentation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
any of numerous plants of the genus Euphorbia; usually having milky often poisonous juice
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: shrub, bush
Narrower terms: caper spurge, myrtle spurge, mole plant, Euphorbia lathyris, sun spurge, wartweed, wartwort, devil's milk, Euphorbia helioscopia, petty spurge, Euphorbia peplus, medusa's head, Euphorbia medusae, Euphorbia caput-medusae, wild spurge, flowering spurge, tramp's spurge, Euphorbia corollata, snow-on-the-mountain, snow-in-summer, ghost weed, Euphorbia marginata, cypress spurge, Euphorbia cyparissias, leafy spurge, wolf's milk, Euphorbia esula, hairy spurge, Euphorbia hirsuta, poinsettia, Christmas star, Christmas flower, lobster plant, Mexican flameleaf, painted leaf, Euphorbia pulcherrima, Japanese poinsettia, paint leaf, Euphorbia heterophylla, fire-on-the-mountain, Mexican fire plant, Euphorbia cyathophora, wood spurge, Euphorbia amygdaloides, candelilla, Euphorbia antisyphilitica, dwarf spurge, Euphorbia exigua, scarlet plume, Euphorbia fulgens, naboom, cactus euphorbia, Euphorbia ingens, crown of thorns, Christ thorn, Christ plant, Euphorbia milii, toothed spurge, Euphorbia dentata
History
Etymology tree Old French espurgebor. Middle English spurge English spurge Inherited from Middle English spurge, from Old French espurge, from espurgier (“to purge”), from Latin expurgo (“to purge”); the bitter milky sap of these plants was formerly used as a purgative.
Uncertain, but likely closely related to etymology 1, thus a doublet of purge.
Across languages
53 source translations are retained for this English entry.
