spurge
Meaning
A plant of a large genus of the family Euphorbiaceae, typically having milky sap and small greenish flowers.
Usage
The leafy spurge is an invasive species that can overtake pastures.
Many varieties of spurge are popular in rock gardens for their drought tolerance.
The gardener wore gloves to avoid contact with the spurge's irritating sap.
Etymology
The word 'spurge' entered English in the 14th century from the Old French 'espurge', a noun derived from the verb 'espurgier', meaning 'to purge'. This, in turn, came from the Latin 'expurgare', meaning 'to cleanse out' or 'purge'. The name was given to these plants due to the strong purgative properties of their milky, latex-like sap, which was historically used in medicine. Thus, the modern botanical term retains a direct, functional link to its original Latin meaning related to cleansing or purging.
Analysis
This word is a simplex form. It is a loanword from Old French, which derived it from Latin.