petty spurgen.
/ˈpɛtɪ spəːdʒ/, U.S. /ˈpɛdi ˌspərdʒ/ A small annual euphorbia which is often a troublesome weed of cultivated ground, Euphorbia peplus, native to Europe and introduced elsewhere, esp. to North America and Australia.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Euphorbiaceae (spurges and allies) > [noun] > particular type of spurge
petty spurge1578
milkweed1592
spurge1715
Macaranga1846
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 363 Peplos..is called in English of some Wartwurt,..also Pety Spurge.
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words at Pepilio Pepilio, Wilde-purcelaine, some take it for Diuelsmilke or Pety-spurge.
1648 J. Bobart Eng. Catal. at Spurge, in Catalogus Plantarum Horti Medici Oxoniensis Petty spurge, Esula rotundifol.
1719 tr. J. Pitton de Tournefort Compl. Herbal I. vi. ii. 513/1 The Leaves are small, resembling those of Lentills, or rather petty Spurge.
1786 J. Abercrombie Gardener's Pocket Dict. II. 203 Euphorbia Peplus. (Peplus.) or Petty Spurge.
1874 R. Brown Man. Bot. ii. iii. 205 Modifications of the leaf... Smooth,..without any superficial inequalities or appendages of any description. Ex. Euphorbia Peplus (petty spurge), and spindle-tree (Euonymus Europæus).
1954 A. A. Forsyth Brit. Poisonous Plants 68 The petty spurge, sometimes known as ‘milk-weed’, has caused illness and losses among horses and cattle in Australia.
2001 Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 25 July 8 The plant compound, which has already been discovered in more than 200 varieties of plants including the common backyard weed petty spurge or radium weed, has historically been used for medicinal purposes.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1578