ˈsmartweed Chiefly dial. and U.S.
[f. smart n.1 or a.]
A name given to various species of Polygonum, esp. the arsesmart or water-pepper (Polygonum Hydropiper).
| 1787 W. H. Marshall E. Norfolk (1795) II. 388 Smart⁓weed, biting and pale-flowered persicarias; arsmart. 1848 Amer. Jrnl. Med. Sci. XVI. 247 The Smart-weed as a Remedy for Mercurial Salivation. 1883 E. C. Rollins New Eng. Bygones 50 About my grandfather's gate smart-weed and dock-weed and plantain grew profusely. Ibid. 181 The smart-weed bed underneath them was always hunted by eager children. |