chickweed

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chickweed

/ˈtʃɪkwiːd/

Where it comes from

From Middle English chykwed, chykewode, chike wed, chikewed, chekwede, a variant of chykynwede, chekyn-wede, cheken-wede (literally “chicken-weed”), equivalent to chick + weed.

Etymonline claims the name was apparently applied to many plants fit for chicken feed, which were called in Old English cicene mete (“chicken food”).

noun chickweeds · chick-weed

uncountable, usually especially common chickweed (Stellaria media), a common, edible weed in North America and Europe. I look at the little sprigs of chickweed trembling among the bean shoots and I am strangely moved. Such steadfastness! Such yearning! They want to live too. That is all they ask: to have their little moment in the world.
uncountable, usually Stellaria pro parte
uncountable, usually Cerastium (mouse-ear chickweed)
uncountable, usually Ageratum conyzoides
uncountable, usually Holosteum (jagged chickweed)
uncountable, usually Moenchia (upright chickweed)
uncountable, usually Paronychia spp. (nailwort, whitlow-wort)

Translations

Every language

noun herb

Español	capiquí, pamplina, hierba gallinera, álsine
日本語	繁縷
中文	繁縷 /繁缕 fánlǚ
Português	morrião-dos-passarinhos, morugem
Français	mouron blanc
Deutsch	Vogelmiere
Italiano	centocchio
Română	răcovină
Русский	алзи́на alzína, мокри́чник mokríčnik

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MLA

"chickweed." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/chickweed. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

chickweed. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/chickweed

Chicago

"chickweed." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/chickweed.

BibTeX

@misc{chickweed_2026,
  title = {chickweed},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/chickweed},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}