Dictionary Definition
sorrel adj : of a light brownish color [syn:
brownish-orange]
Noun
1 any plant or flower of the genus Oxalis [syn:
oxalis, wood
sorrel]
2 any of certain coarse weedy plants with long
taproots, sometimes used as table greens or in folk medicine [syn:
dock, sour
grass]
3 East Indian sparsely prickly annual herb or
perennial subshrub widely cultivated for its fleshy calyxes used in
tarts and jelly and for its bast fiber [syn: roselle, rozelle, red sorrel,
Jamaica
sorrel, Hibiscus
sabdariffa]
4 large sour-tasting arrowhead-shaped leaves used
in salads and sauces [syn: common
sorrel]
5 a horse of a brownish orange to light brown
color
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- /'sɒrəl/
- Rhymes: -ɒrəl
Noun
- a kind of plant with acidic leaves, especially Rumex acetosa, sometimes used as a salad vegetable
- a brown colour, with a tint of red.
- sorrel colour:
Translations
plant
colour
- Greek: καστανοκίτρινο (kastanocítrino) , καστανόξανθο (kastanóksanθo)
- Japanese: 薄赤褐色 (うすせきかっしょく, ususekikasshoku)
- Polish: gniady
Adjective
sorrel- of a brown colour, with a tint of red.
Translations
colour
- Greek: καστανοκίτρινος (kastanocítrinos) , καστανόξανθος (kastanóksanθos)
- Japanese: 薄赤褐色の (うすせきかっしょくの, ususekikasshoku no)
- Polish: gniady
Derived terms
See also
Extensive Definition
Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa), also known as
spinach dock and either ambada bhaji or gongoora in Indian
cuisine, is a perennial
herb
that is cultivated as a garden herb or leaf
vegetable (pot herb).
Sorrel is a slender plant about 60 cm high, with roots
that run deep into the ground, as well as juicy stems and edible,
oblong leaves.
The lower leaves are 7 to 15 cm in length, slightly arrow-shaped at
the base, with very long petioles.
The upper ones are sessile, and frequently become
crimson. The leaves are eaten by the larvae of several species of
Lepidoptera
(butterfly and
moth) including the
Blood-vein
moth.
It has whorled spikes of reddish-green flowers, which bloom in June and
July, becoming purplish. The stamens and pistils are on different plants
(dioecious); the ripe
seeds are brown and
shining.
Common sorrel has been cultivated for centuries.
The leaves may be puréed in soups and sauces or added to salads and shav; they have a flavor that is
similar to kiwifruit
or sour wild
strawberries. The plant's sharp taste is due to oxalic acid,
and so may be contraindicated
in people with rheumatic-type
complaints, kidney or
bladder
stones. Sorrel is also a laxative.
References
sorrel in Arabic: حماض بستاني
sorrel in Bulgarian: Киселец
sorrel in Catalan: Agrella
sorrel in Czech: Šťovík kyselý
sorrel in Danish: Almindelig Syre
sorrel in German: Wiesen-Sauerampfer
sorrel in Esperanto: Okzalo
sorrel in Spanish: Rumex acetosa
sorrel in Finnish: Niittysuolaheinä
sorrel in French: Oseille
sorrel in Galician: Aceda
sorrel in Icelandic: Túnsúra
sorrel in Italian: Rumex acetosa
sorrel in Japanese: スイバ
sorrel in Hungarian: Sóska
sorrel in Dutch: Veldzuring
sorrel in Ossetian: Хуырхæг
sorrel in Polish: Szczaw zwyczajny
sorrel in Russian: Щавель
sorrel in Swedish: Ängssyra
sorrel in Vietnamese: Chút chít (cây)
sorrel in Ukrainian: Щавель кислий
sorrel in Chinese: 酸模
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
bay,
bayard, beige, brown, brownish, brownish-yellow,
brunet, buckskin, calico pony, chestnut, chocolate, cinnamon, cocoa, cocoa-brown, coffee, coffee-brown,
dapple-gray, drab, dun, dun-brown, dun-drab, ecru, fawn, fawn-colored, fuscous, gray, grege, grizzle, hazel, khaki, lurid, nut-brown, olive-brown,
olive-drab, paint, painted
pony, piebald, pinto, roan, seal, seal-brown, sepia, skewbald, snuff-colored,
tan, taupe, tawny, toast, toast-brown, umber, umber-colored, walnut, walnut-brown,
yellowish-brown