Adjacent Words

Rush toad definitions

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Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Rush Rush, n. [OE. rusche, rische, resche, AS. risce, akin to LG. rusk, risch, D. & G. rusch; all probably fr. L. ruscum butcher's broom; akin to Goth. raus reed, G. rohr.] 1. (Bot.) A name given to many aquatic or marsh-growing endogenous plants with soft, slender stems, as the species of Juncus and Scirpus. Note: Some species are used in bottoming chairs and plaiting mats, and the pith is used in some places for wicks to lamps and rushlights. 2. The merest trifle; a straw. John Bull's friendship is not worth a rush. --Arbuthnot. Bog rush. See under Bog. Club rush, any rush of the genus Scirpus. Flowering rush. See under Flowering. Nut rush (a) Any plant of the genus Scleria, rushlike plants with hard nutlike fruits. (b) A name for several species of Cyperus having tuberous roots. Rush broom, an Australian leguminous plant (Viminaria denudata), having long, slender branches. Also, the Spanish broom. See under Spanish. Rush candle, See under Candle. Rush grass, any grass of the genus Vilfa, grasses with wiry stems and one-flowered spikelets. Rush toad (Zo["o]l.), the natterjack. Scouring rush. (Bot.) Same as Dutch rush, under Dutch. Spike rush, any rushlike plant of the genus Eleocharis, in which the flowers grow in dense spikes. Sweet rush, a sweet-scented grass of Arabia, etc. (Andropogon sch[oe]nanthus), used in Oriental medical practice. Wood rush, any plant of the genus Luzula, which differs in some technical characters from Juncus.