Hypertext Webster Gateway: "rhubarb"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rhubarb \Rhu"barb\, n. [F. rhubarbe, OF. rubarbe, rheubarbe,
reubarbare, reobarbe, LL. rheubarbarum for rheum barbarum,
Gr. ??? (and ??) rhubarb, from the river Rha (the Volga) on
whose banks it grew. Originally, therefore, it was the
barbarian plant from the Rha. Cf. {Barbarous},
{Rhaponticine}.]
1. (Bot.) The name of several large perennial herbs of the
genus {Rheum} and order {Polygonace[ae]}.
2. The large and fleshy leafstalks of {Rheum Rhaponticum} and
other species of the same genus. They are pleasantly acid,
and are used in cookery. Called also {pieplant}.
3. (Med.) The root of several species of {Rheum}, used much
as a cathartic medicine.
{Monk's rhubarb}. (Bot.) See under {Monk}.
{Turkey rhubarb} (Med.), the roots of {Rheum Emodi}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
rhubarb
n 1: long pinkish sour leafstalks usually eaten cooked and
sweetened [syn: {pieplant}]
2: plants having long green or reddish acidic leafstalks
growing in basal clumps; stems (and only the stems) are
edible when cooked; leaves are poisonous [syn: {rhubarb
plant}]
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