Main Entry:

spurge

Pronunciation:

\ˈspərj\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Anglo-French espurge, spurge, from espurger to clean out, purge, from Latin expurgare — more at expurgate

Date:

14th century

: any of a family (Euphorbiaceae) of widely distributed herbs, shrubs, and trees often with a bitter milky juice ; especially : euphorbia