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Glite Dictionary
pickleweed

pickleweed

9.2
A fleshy plant that grows in salty coastal marshes and can be eaten
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪkəlˌwiːd/
  • US
translation icon : salicornia
  • In coastal regions, pickleweed grows abundantly and can be eaten fresh or pickled.

Examples

  • I looked out the window: pickleweed, ocotillo, the great bowl of weepy sky.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The salty marsh was filled with pickleweed, a plant that thrives in challenging environments.

  • Birds often nest among the tall stalks of pickleweed that line the marshy shore.

Synonyms

black saltwort
vspickleweed
  • US
9.7

A small coastal plant that grows in salty marshes and has pink or white flowers

is a broader edible fleshy plant of coastal marshes
saltwort
vspickleweed
9.9

A plant that grows in salty coastal marshes

is more specific and edible rather than a general coastal plant

Surface Forms

pickleweed singular
pickleweeds plural

Morphology

pickleweed = pickle + weed (transparent) = pickle + weed

The compound transparently denotes a plant associated with pickling or a salty edible plant; learners knowing 'pickle' and 'weed' can infer the sense.

Etymology

Pickleweed joins pickle and weed; pickle means 'a food kept in salt or vinegar' and weed means 'a wild plant', so the name pictures a wild plant that lives in salty places and can be eaten pickled.