Job's tears

Job's tears
n.pl. the seeds of a grass, Coix lacryma-jobi, used as beads.
Etymology: the patriarch Job in the Old Testament

* * *

noun
hard pearly seeds of an Asiatic grass; often used as beads
• Hypernyms: ↑seed

* * *

noun plural
Usage: usually capitalized J
Etymology: after Job, Old Testament patriarch who wept because of his many afflictions (Job 16:16 ff)
1. : hard pearly white seeds often sold as beads or strung in necklaces
2. singular in construction : an Asiatic grass (Coix lacryma-jobi) now widely cultivated in the tropics that produces Job's tears in ornamental and edible varieties — called also tear grass

* * *

Job's tears plural noun
1. The involucres of an Indian grass (Coix lachryma) used as beads
2. Round grains of chrysolite
• • •
Main Entry: ↑Job

* * *

['jōbz 'ti(ə)rz]
plural n. a widely cultivated Southeast Asian grass that bears its seeds inside hollow, pear-shaped receptacles, which are gray and shiny and sometimes used as beads. ● Coix lacryma-jobi, family Gramineae
Origin:
late 16th cent.: named after the patriarch Job

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Job's Tears — beads Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked) …   Wikipedia

  • Job's tears — Job Job (j[=o]b), n. The hero of the book of that name in the Old Testament; the prototypical patient man. [1913 Webster] {Job s comforter}. (a) A false friend; a tactless or malicious person who, under pretense of sympathy, insinuates rebukes.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Job's-tears — [jōbz′tirz′] n. [see JOB] a coarse, annual tropical grass (Coix lacryma jobi) which bears hard, beadlike structures (modified leaves) contain edible grains pl.n. the beads, often used ornamentally …   English World dictionary

  • Job's tears — ▪ plant  (species Coix lacryma jobi), leafy, jointed stemmed annual grass of the family Poaceae, native to tropical Asia and naturalized in North America. It is 1 to 3 m (3 to nearly 10 feet) tall. Job s tears receives its name from the hard,… …   Universalium

  • Job’s tears — Jobo ašarė statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Miglinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, grūdinis, maistinis, pašarinis, vaistinis augalas (Coix lacryma jobi), paplitęs rytų ir pietryčių Azijoje, naudojamas gėrimams gaminti (iš sėklų verdama arbata).… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • Job's tears — noun plural Date: 1597 1. hard usually pearly white seeds of a tropical southeast Asian grass (Coix lacryma jobi) often used as beads 2. singular in construction the grass producing Job s tears …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Job's-tears — /johbz tearz /, n. 1. (used with a pl. v.) the hard, nearly spherical bracts that surround the female flowers of an Asian grass, Coix lacryma jobi, and which when ripe are used as beads. 2. (used with a sing. v.) the grass itself. [1590 1600] * * …   Useful english dictionary

  • Job's tears — [dʒəʊbz] plural noun a SE Asian grass which bears its seeds inside shiny pear shaped receptacles, which are sometimes used as beads. [Coix lacryma jobi.] Origin C16: named after the biblical patriarch Job …   English new terms dictionary

  • Job's tears — /dʒoʊbz ˈtɪəz/ (say johbz tearz) plural noun 1. the hard, nearly globular involucres which surround the female flowers in a species of grass, Coix lacryma jobi, and which when ripe are used as beads. 2. (lower case) (construed as singular) the… …  

  • Job's-tears — /johbz tearz /, n. 1. (used with a pl. v.) the hard, nearly spherical bracts that surround the female flowers of an Asian grass, Coix lacryma jobi, and which when ripe are used as beads. 2. (used with a sing. v.) the grass itself. [1590 1600] * * …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”