sporrie, noun

/ˈspɒri/, /ˈspɔri/
Forms:
Also sporries, and (formerly) spurrie.
Plurals:
unchanged.
Origin:
Afrikaans, DutchShow more Afrikaans, from Dutch spurrie.
Any of several species of wild flax, Heliophila of the Brassicaceae, which bear small white or blue flowers.
Note:
Imported as a fodder plant by Jan van Riebeeck during the 17th century.
Note:
Found in general English as ‘spurry’.
1731 G. Medley tr. of P. Kolben’s Present State of Cape of G.H. II. 71There is an Herb at the Cape the Europeans there call Spurrie, which grows very thick in a great many Places...It grows about Half a Foot high; and bears a great Number of White Flowers, which are follow’d by several Capsulae, containing each a Quantity of very small Seed. When the Sun smites the spurrie very hotly, the capsulae open.
[1731 G. Medley tr. of P. Kolben’s Present State of Cape of G.H. II. 272Spurry was brought to the Cape from Holland; and some was brought from Batavia.]
1917 R. Marloth Dict. of Common Names of Plants 76Sporrie, Spergula arvensis. Cultivated as fodder-plant, sometimes a garden weed.
1975 S. Afr. Panorama Sept. 32Hundreds of tourists flock to the area. On warm sunny days they can be seen rambling through fields of vivid Namaqualand daisies, white and blue ‘sporrie’ (Heliophila sp.), buttercup yellow and orange daisies, exquisite vygies, ‘hongerblomme’, [etc.].
1986 Personality 3 Nov. 32A patch of delicate white sporries makes a perfect backdrop to the furry grey coat of a young donkey.
1987 S. Eliovson in Flying Springbok Aug. 97Another dainty sky-blue flower, Heliophila, meaning sun-loving, comes into flower quickly. Its common name is sporries or wild flax. White sporries lie in vast tracts like snowdrifts on the Kamiesberg mountains near Leliefontein.
Any of several species of wild flax, Heliophila of the Brassicaceae, which bear small white or blue flowers.
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spoorweg, nounn.spot, nounn.
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