Windlestraw

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A dry, withered stalk of grass that has been left behind and is carried along by the breeze
2. The brittle stem of a grass plant, light enough to be tossed about by even a gentle wind
3. Any slender, dried blade of straw or grass that drifts or rolls across open ground in the wind

Etymology: Windlestraw is a compound of "windle," a word that meant a withered or dried stalk, and "straw." The first element is related to an Old English verb meaning to wither or dry up, so the whole word describes a dried-out stalk of grass or grain, the kind of thing a breeze would blow about. Its history is therefore literal from start to finish: nothing was coined for effect, and the word simply names the object by its condition. Because the element "windle" is an older dialect-rooted word, the compound is best understood as a descriptive pairing rather than a figure of speech. Over time, the name for a dry, brittle stalk gained the sense of something light and easily carried off, which is why the word appears in writing as a picture of things at the mercy of the wind.

Synonyms: straw