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ox·a·lis

(ŏksə-lĭs, ŏk-sălĭs)

Any of numerous plants of the genus Oxalis, having cloverlike compound leaves usually with three leaflets and five-petaled, variously colored flowers. Also called sorrel, wood sorrel.

[Latin oxalis, wood sorrel, from Greek, from oxus, sour; see ak- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

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oxalis

windowbox wood sorrelOxalis rubra

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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