n. 1. See glasswort. 2. An edible coastal plant (Crithmum maritimum) in the parsley family, native to Eurasia, having fleshy compound leaves and small white flowers grouped in compound umbels, and sometimes pickled. [Alteration of Early Modern English sampiere, the plant C. maritimum, from French (herbe de) Saint Pierre, (herb of) Saint Peter, after Saint Pierre, Saint Peter, a patron saint of fisherman (the plant being so called because it grows on rocks near the sea, the name perhaps also being influenced by French pierre, rock).] |
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