woad
woad — noun
1. a tall plant with small yellow flowers that grows naturally in Europe and parts
a tall plant with small yellow flowers that grows naturally in Europe and parts of Asia. People grow it for its leaves, which produce a bright blue colour when processed for dyeing cloth.
In the Middle Ages, woad was one of the most valuable crops in parts of France and Germany.
woad was … a valuable crop (historical usage context)
Mira learned to recognise woad by its clusters of tiny yellow flowers and long pointed leaves.
The local farmer grows several varieties of woad and sells the dried leaves to natural-dye artists.
Farmers grow woad for its leaves, which can be turned into a bright blue dye for colouring cloth.
The museum's herb garden includes woad, madder, and other plants used for colouring fabric long ago.
- Isatis tinctoria
scientific name; used in botanical writing
- pastel
old French-derived name for the woad plant, now mostly historical
用法筆記
Countable use (e.g. 'a woad', 'several woads') is rare and typically appears only in botanical or agricultural descriptions of individual plants. In most contexts the word is uncountable.
常見錯誤
2. a bright blue colouring substance obtained from the leaves of the woad plant. In
a bright blue colouring substance obtained from the leaves of the woad plant. In ancient and medieval times people used it to colour fabric, paint their skin, and create inks.
The ancient Britons used woad to paint blue patterns on their bodies before battle, according to Roman writers.
used woad to paint … on their bodies
Mathieu spent the weekend dyeing woollen scarves with woad in his studio.
dyeing … with woad
Natural woad gives a softer, less uniform blue than the synthetic indigo used in most modern jeans.
The dark blue woad on the medieval fabric had not faded despite being buried for over six hundred years.
Textile historians studied how woad was extracted, fermented, and turned into a usable dye.
- indigo
a similar but chemically distinct blue dye; indigo replaced woad in trade from the 17th century
用法筆記
Woad is nearly always uncountable when referring to the dye itself. To refer to a specific type or batch, use a partitive such as 'a batch of woad' or 'a type of woad'.