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wood sorrel
noun
: any of a genus (Oxalis of the family Oxalidaceae, the wood-sorrel family) of herbs with acid sap, compound leaves, and regular flowers having five usually white, purple, or yellow petals
especially
: either of two stemless herbs (O. montana of North America and O. acetosella of Eurasia) with trifoliolate leaves
Examples of wood sorrel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The greens typically called weeds that get ripped out of backyards make a delicious salad and can be a bold garnish — think of purslane, or wood sorrel.
—Sean Sherman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Nov. 2023
About 4 miles from the Chicago Rockford International Airport, violet wood sorrel has started to grow.
—Nara Schoenberg, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2023
The selection of wood sorrel was mostly arbitrary.
—Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2022
This is a type of oxalis called broadleaf wood sorrel or fishtail oxalis.
—Dan Gill, NOLA.com, 11 Nov. 2020
There are several native plants that might work in this space, the most obvious being wood sorrel (oxalis).
—oregonlive, 28 Jan. 2023
The hotel is situated outside Grasmere village in grounds made up of gardens and forest home to a herd of roe deer, red squirrels and native plant species including foxgloves and wood sorrel.
—Lauren Jade Hill, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2022
This year my diet has included chickweed, dead nettle, bittercress, dock, garlic pennycress, wild onion, brassica, wood sorrel, cleavers, dandelions, lamb’s quarters, day lily shoots, sochan, purslane and poke (amply boiled to remove toxins).
—Gabriel Popkin, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022
Why does wood sorrel appear so prominently in the title and the story?
—Deborah Treisman, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wood sorrel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of wood sorrel was
in the 13th century
Dictionary Entries Near wood sorrel
Cite this Entry
“Wood sorrel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wood%20sorrel. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
wood sorrel
noun
: any of a genus of herbs with acid sap, leaves having leaflets, and flowers with five petals
especially
: a stemless herb having leaves with three leaflets that is sometimes considered to be the original shamrock
More from Merriam-Webster on wood sorrel
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about wood sorrel
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