pennywort

[ pen-ee-wurt, -wawrt ]

noun

1. any of several plants having round or roundish leaves, as the navelwort.

pennywort

/ ˈpɛnɪˌwɜːt /

noun

1. Also callednavelwort a crassulaceous Eurasian rock plant, Umbilicus rupestris (or Cotyledon umbilicus ), with whitish-green tubular flowers and rounded leaves
2. a marsh plant, Hydrocotyle vulgaris, of Europe and North Africa, having circular leaves and greenish-pink flowers: family Hydrocotylaceae
3. a gentianaceous plant, Obolaria virginica, of E North America, with fleshy scalelike leaves and small white or purplish flowers
4. any of various other plants with rounded penny-like leaves

Word History and Origins

Origin of pennywort¹

First recorded in 1275–1325, pennywort is from the Middle English word penywort. See penny, wort ²

Example Sentences

Ingredients like serai, the Malay word for lemongrass, and ulam, the catchall term for local herbs like pennywort and water celery, are native to the region, but due to the influx of Chinese and Indian immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, and an even longer history of European colonialism, Malaysian cuisine has greatly evolved over the centuries.

From Salon

Minari has many English names throughout the different Asian countries where it also grows: water dropwort, Chinese celery, Indian pennywort, Japanese parsley.

From Slate

The plant known in Korean as minari—which is also known in English as Chinese celery, Japanese parsley, Indian pennywort, or Javan dropwort—isn’t native to the Americas.

From Slate

Eating garlic or the pennywort leaf will ward off the virus, Rohingya refugees have been told.

From New York Times

And then you kind of strap yourself in for the ride — strips of grilled boar collar served with iced, pickled mustard greens; weirdly chewy Chiang Mai pork sausage with pork cracklings and a roasted green chile dip; dense, dripping pennywort salad whirling with a dozen flavors you can't quite process; minced pork larb whose funkiness is almost incandescent; and a northern-style herb salad with a dozen different layers of chewiness and stink.

From Los Angeles Times