groundsel

¹

[ ground-suhl ]

noun

1. any composite plant of the genus Senecio, especially S. vulgaris, a common weed having clusters of small yellow disk flowers without rays.

groundsel

²

[ ground-suhl ]

noun

1. groundsill.

groundsel

/ ˈɡraʊnsəl /

noun

1. any of certain plants of the genus Senecio, esp S. vulgaris, a Eurasian weed with heads of small yellow flowers: family Asteraceae (composites) See also ragwort
2. groundsel tree
   a shrub, Baccharis halimifolia, of E North America, with white plumelike fruits: family Asteraceae

Word History and Origins

Origin of groundsel¹

before 900; Middle English grundeswili ( e ), groundeswel, Old English grundeswelge, gundeswelge; compare Old English gund pus, swelgan to swallow, absorb (from its use in medicine); the -r- is by folk etymology from association with ground ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of groundsel¹

Old English grundeswelge , changed from gundeswilge, from gund pus + swelgan to swallow; after its use in poultices on abscesses

Example Sentences

He crashed into a hill of groundsel bushes and wedged his way into their dense center.

From Literature

The San Francisco Peaks groundsel, an ankle-high plant with tiny, yellow flowers that is also known as ragwort, grows only on the San Francisco Peaks.

From New York Times

But weeds were the most plentiful of all, and chickweed and groundsel enough appeared there to have supplied a whole forest of singing birds.

From Project Gutenberg

These were the weeds, the dusty groundsel of words; Ynys was her own vocabulary, every part of her a part of speech....

From Project Gutenberg

Then William Hunter plucked up his gown and stepped over the parlor groundsel and went forward cheerfully; the sheriff's servants taking him by one arm and his brother by another.

From Project Gutenberg