dyer's woad

9.9

A European plant grown for blue dye from its leaves

noun
/ˈdaɪərz woʊd/

: guado

Dyer's woad was once widely grown in Europe to produce blue dye for textiles.

Examples

The dyer's woad plant is known for its blue dye.
Historical records mention that dyer's woad was an important crop before the introduction of indigo.
The fields were covered in dyer's woad, ready to be harvested for their valuable leaves.
Did you know that dyer's woad was used in ancient textiles?
Dyer's woad was once widely grown in Europe to produce blue dye for textiles.
Historical records mention that dyer's woad was an important crop before the introduction of indigo.
The fields were covered in dyer's woad, ready to be harvested for their valuable leaves.

Synonyms

Isatis tinctoria

vsdyer's woad

Specialized

9.9

A European plant that grows for two years and whose leaves make blue dye

is the common name used instead of the Latin form

woad

vsdyer's woad

Specialized

9.9

A yellow-flowered plant once grown for a blue dye

is the specific species grown for extracting blue dye

Surface Forms

dyer's woad singular

dyer's woads plural

Morphology

dyer's + woad

The phrase combines the possessive/adjectival form 'dyer's' (relating to someone who dyes) with 'woad' (a dye-producing plant), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it refers to the woad used by dyers — i.e., a plant for dyeing (historically yielding blue). This is a straightforward compositional noun phrase following normal English patterns, so the overall meaning is derivable from its parts.

Etymology

The noun dyer's woad is named for its use: dyer is a person who dyes cloth and woad is a plant whose leaves were soaked and squeezed to make 'blue dye'. So, the name simply means the plant used to make blue dye.