man-of-the-earth

[ man-uhv-thee-urth, -urth ]

noun

, plural men-of-the-earth, man-of-the-earths.

1. a morning glory, Ipomoea pandurata, of eastern North America, having white flowers and a very large, tuberous root.

Word History and Origins

Origin of man-of-the-earth¹

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

"If you were not such a man-of-the-earth, you would know that to cut out one line of one prayer is enough to set all the Rabbis excommunicating."

From Project Gutenberg

One has to dig deep to find the huge, fleshy, potato-like root from which the vine derived its name of man-of-the-earth.

From Project Gutenberg