Job's-tears

[ johbz-teerz ]

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) the hard, nearly spherical bracts that surround the female flowers of an Asian grass, Coix lacryma-jobi, and which when ripe are used as beads.
2. (used with a singular verb) the grass itself.

Job's-tears

noun

1. functioning as singular a tropical Asian grass, Coix lacryma-jobi , cultivated for its white beadlike modified leaves, which contain edible seeds
2. functioning as plural the beadlike structures of this plant, used as rosary or ornamental beads

Word History and Origins

Origin of Job's-tears¹

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

The possessive case and its governing noun, combining to form a metaphorical name, should be written with both apostrophe and hyphen; as, Job's-tears, Jew's-ear, bear's-foot, colts-tooth, sheep's-head, crane's-bill, crab's-eyes, hound's-tongue, king's-spear, lady's-slipper, lady's-bedstraw, &c.

From Project Gutenberg