In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
SAMPHIRE
glasswort, samphire, Salicornia europaea
(noun) fleshy maritime plant having fleshy stems with rudimentary scalelike leaves and small spikes of minute flowers; formerly used in making glass
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
samphire (countable and uncountable, plural samphires)
One of several salt-tolerant plants, some edible
marsh samphire, glasswort (genus Salicornia), a plant once burned to produce ash used to make soda glass.
Rock samphire (Crithmum maritimum).
golden samphire (Inula crithmoides, now Limbarda crithmoides).
Borrichia arborescens of the West Indies.
Plants of genus Sarcocornia
Plants of genus Tecticornia
Anagrams
• pesharim, seraphim
Source: Wiktionary
Sam"phire ( or ; 277), n. Etym: [F. l'herbe de Saint Pierre. See Saint, and Petrel.] (Bot.) (a) A fleshy, suffrutescent, umbelliferous European plant (Crithmum maritimum). It grows among rocks and on cliffs along the seacoast, and is used for pickles. Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade! Scak.
(b) The species of glasswort (Salicornia herbacea); -- called in England marsh samphire. (c) A seashore shrub (Borrichia arborescens) of the West Indies. Golden samphire. See under Golden.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
31 March 2025
IMPROVISED
(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”
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