English Explanatory Dictionary

Wandering Jew

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. A Jewish shoemaker who, in Christian tradition, taunted Jesus Christ on the way to his (Jesus') crucifixion and for that was condemned to wander the Earth until Jesus' return (ie. the second coming).
noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of wandering Jew (“plant”).
noun
  1. Any plant of three species of spiderworts, Tradescantia pallida, Tradescantia fluminensis, and Tradescantia zebrina.
  2. The plant Saxifraga stolonifera.

Word forms

Wandering Jew Wandering Jews

Etymology

The plant's name is derived from the figure of the Wandering Jew, presumably at least partly from the tendency of those plants to spread through a garden (i.e. wander).

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