English Explanatory Dictionary

tick-trefoil

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. One of several species in the genus Desmodium in the legume family

Word forms

tick-trefoil tick-trefoils

Etymology

From tick + trefoil (“three-leaved”). Tick refers to the plant's loments – pods that break apart into segments that each contain one seed – which have small hooked hairs that allow the segments to stick to clothes, hair, or fur, similar to the way a tick clings on with its legs.

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