restharrow

[ rest-har-oh ]

noun

1. a low, pink-flowered European shrub, Ononis spinosa, of the legume family, having tough roots that hinder the plow or harrow.

restharrow

/ ˈrɛstˌhærəʊ /

noun

1. any of several Eurasian leguminous plants of the genus Ononis , such as O. repens and O. spinosa , with tough stems and roots

Word History and Origins

Origin of restharrow¹

First recorded in 1540–50; rest ¹ + harrow ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of restharrow¹

C16: from rest variant of arrest (to hinder, stop) + harrow ¹

Example Sentences

The medicinal garden is one of eight discrete beds in the Bonnefont Cloister garden, where Montefusco and his gardeners grow such beguiling medieval herbs as viper’s bugloss, self-heal, cow-cockle and restharrow.

From Washington Post

Why were female golfers as endemic to Birkdale as the grey herons and natterjacks, the dog rose and comfrey, the sneezewort, white nettle and restharrow growing in the rough?

From Washington Post

Other plants to make the most of the great wet summer are Mediterranean annuals such as small restharrow, distinctive for its pink and white flowers, and nitgrass.

From The Guardian

There are anthills, rushes, and other indications of not too rich a soil in this meadow, and in places the prickly restharrow grows among the grass, bearing its pink flower in summer.

From Project Gutenberg