weed2

[weed] /wid/
noun
1.
weeds, mourning garments:
widow's weeds.
2.
a mourning band of black crepe or cloth, as worn on a man's hat or coat sleeve.
3.
Often, weeds. Archaic.
  1. a garment:
    clad in rustic weeds.
  2. clothing.
Origin
before 900; Middle English wede, Old English wǣd, (ge)wǣde garment, clothing; cognate with Old Saxon wād, gewādi, Old High German wāt, gewāti clothing; cf. wadmal

weed1

[weed] /wid/
noun
1.
a valueless plant growing wild, especially one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.
2.
any undesirable or troublesome plant, especially one that grows profusely where it is not wanted:
The vacant lot was covered with weeds.
3.
Informal. a cigarette or cigar.
4.
Slang. a marijuana cigarette.
5.
a thin, ungainly person or animal.
6.
a wretched or useless animal, especially a horse unfit for racing or breeding purposes.
7.
the weed.
  1. Informal. tobacco.
  2. Slang. marijuana.
verb (used with object)
8.
to free from weeds or troublesome plants; root out weeds from:
to weed a garden.
9.
to root out or remove (a weed or weeds), as from a garden (often followed by out):
to weed out crab grass from a lawn.
10.
to remove as being undesirable, inefficient, or superfluous (often followed by out):
to weed out inexperienced players.
11.
to rid (something) of undesirable or superfluous elements.
verb (used without object)
12.
to remove weeds or the like.
Idioms
13.
(deep) in / into the weeds,
  1. (of a restaurant worker) overwhelmed and falling behind in serving customers:
    Our waitress was so deep in the weeds that we waited 40 minutes for our burgers.
  2. in trouble; overwhelmed by problems:
    He knows our marriage is in deep weeds.
  3. involved in the details:
    I’m in the weeds of planning my wedding.
Also, in deep weeds.
Origin
before 900; Middle English wede, Old English wēod; cognate with Old Saxon wiod weed, Middle Dutch wiet fern
Related forms
weedless, adjective
weedlike, adjective
unweeded, adjective
Examples from the web for weeds
  • Well-fed plants grow fast and large, shading out weeds and usually staying disease-free.
  • Or, perhaps, weeds out students who are a poor fit as online students.
  • But you won't have time to work in the garden, so it will turn to weeds and you'll wonder why you cared in the first place.
  • Same with growing certain weeds on your lawn, which are more adaptable to the climate and edible.
  • Canola pollen can waft spliced genes more than a mile, and common crops can hybridize with completely unrelated weeds.
  • They make their living doing the kind of work that automatically weeds out losers.
  • The animals also mimic leafy weeds by drifting along with ocean currents, snacking on sea lice or tiny crustaceans.
  • Insects and weeds acquire resistance to our insecticides and herbicides through the same process.
  • They were no match for the fish farmers, and their crops soon overflowed with unwanted algae weeds.
  • They had fewer weeds, but yields were often much lower.
British Dictionary definitions for weeds

weeds

/wiːdz/
plural noun
1.
Also called widow's weeds. a widow's black mourning clothes
2.
(obsolete) any clothing
Word Origin
pl of weed²

weed1

/wiːd/
noun
1.
any plant that grows wild and profusely, esp one that grows among cultivated plants, depriving them of space, food, etc
2.
(slang)
  1. the weed, tobacco
  2. marijuana
3.
(informal) a thin or unprepossessing person
4.
an inferior horse, esp one showing signs of weakness of constitution
verb
5.
to remove (useless or troublesome plants) from (a garden, etc)
Derived Forms
weeder, noun
weedless, adjective
weedlike, adjective
Word Origin
Old English weod; related to Old Saxon wiod, Old High German wiota fern

weed2

/wiːd/
noun
1.
(rare) a black crepe band worn to indicate mourning See also weeds
Word Origin
Old English wǣd, wēd; related to Old Saxon wād, Old High German wāt, Old Norse vāth
Word Origin and History for weeds
n.

"garments" (now surviving, if at all, in widow's weeds), plural of archaic weed, from Old English wæd, wæde "garment, cloth," from Proto-Germanic *wedo (cf. Old Saxon wadi, Old Frisian wede "garment," Old Norse vað "cloth, texture," Old High German wat "garment"), probably from PIE *wedh-, extended form of root *au- "to weave." Archaic since early 19c.

weed

n.

"plant not valued for use or beauty," Old English weod, uueod "grass, herb, weed," from Proto-Germanic *weud- (cf. Old Saxon wiod, East Frisian wiud), of unknown origin. Meaning "tobacco" is from c.1600; that of "marijuana" is from 1920s.

v.

"to clear the ground of weeds," late Old English weodian, from the source of weed (n.). Related: Weeded; weeding.

Slang definitions & phrases for weeds

weeds

noun

Clothing, esp for mourning (1362+)


weed

noun
  1. (also the weed) Tobacco (1606+)
  2. A cigar, esp an inferior one: Throw that weed away and have a good one (1847+)
  3. (also the weed) A marijuana cigarette; joint (1920s+ Narcotics)
Related Terms

reefer


weeds in Technology


1. Refers to development projects or algorithms that have no possible relevance or practical application. Comes from "off in the weeds". Used in phrases like "lexical analysis for microcode is serious weeds."
2. At CDC/ETA before its demise, the phrase "go off in the weeds" was equivalent to IBM's branch to Fishkill and mainstream hackerdom's jump off into never-never land.
[Jargon File]