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spurge

noun

  1. any species of the clade Euphorbia
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /spɜːdʒ/ / /spɜɹdʒ/

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Old French espurgebor. Middle English spurge English spurge Inherited from Middle English spurge, from Old French espurge, from espurgier (“to purge”), from Latin expurgo (“to purge”); the bitter milky sap of these plants was formerly used as a purgative.

  1. Any plant of the genus Euphorbia, a diverse genus of over 2,000 species.

    “But cockle, spurge, according to their law / Might propagate their kind, with none to awe, / You'd think; a burr had been a treasure trove.”

    “A compound of spurge, cardamom, cinnamon of Mecca, pellitory, ginger, nettle seed is an Arab specific for sexual weakness.”

  2. Any plant of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae.
  3. A plant resembling those in genus Euphorbia in some aspect of its appearance.

verb

Etymology: Uncertain, but likely closely related to etymology 1, thus a doublet of purge.

  1. To emit foam; to froth; said of the emission of yeast from beer during fermentation.

    “The body's somthing noysome: 'tis a stale one; / Good troth it spurgeth very monstrously.”