Home UK English poverty-weed

Meaning of poverty-weed in English:

poverty-weed

noun

dialect

  • 1British Field cow wheat, Melampyrum arvense, formerly a serious weed in parts of the Isle of Wight (now historical).

  • 2US Any of various plants that grow as weeds on poor soil, chiefly of the family Asteraceae, especially the marsh elder, Iva axillaris.

Origin

Mid 19th century; earliest use found in James Halliwell (1820–1889), antiquary and literary scholar.