purslane

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purslane

/ˈpɜːslən/ UK
/ˈpɝslən/ US

Where it comes from

From Old French porcelaine, probably an alteration of Latin porcilaca (“purslane”) (related to portulaca (“purslane”)) to assimilate it with porcelaine (“porcelain”).

noun purslanes · purslain

uncountable, usually Any of the family Portulacaceae (order Caryophyllales) of succulent plants. ASPARAGUS, cauliflowers, imperial Sileſia, royal and cabbage lettuces, burnet, purſlain, cucumbers, naſturtian flowers, peaſe and beans ſown in October, artichokes, ſcarlet ſtrawberries, and kidney beans.
uncountable, usually common purslane or summer purslane (Portulaca oleracea), a widely-grown edible plant
Similar: common purslane, garden purslane, little hogweed, pigweed, pusley, pussley, verdolaga
uncountable, usually moss-rose purslane, moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora)
uncountable, usually winter purslane, miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
uncountable, usually pink purslane (Claytonia sibirica)
uncountable, usually Halimione portulacoides
uncountable, usually Honckenya peploides
uncountable, usually shoreline purslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum)
uncountable, usually purslane tree (Portulacaria afra)

Translations

Every language

noun a plant of the family Portulacaceae

Español	verdolaga
中文	馬齒莧 /马齿苋 mǎchǐxiàn
Português	portulaca, beldroega
Français	pourpier
Deutsch	Portulak

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{purslane_2026,
  title = {purslane},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/purslane},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}