Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

skunk cabbage

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.97 in modern English

Syllables: skunk -cab-bage
IPA

27

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of several leafy, foul-smelling plants, especially Symplocarpus foetidus, a low-growing plant native to the wetlands of eastern North America, but also denoting Lysichiton americanus and Lysichiton camtschatcense.

Canadian usage; American usage; Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"It was May before the skunk cabbage began to push up through the ooze of the swamps, before the rhubarb reddened to the back corner of the garden and the spring peepers finally emerged and began abrading the edges of the night with their lovesick vibrato."

Etymology

From skunk + cabbage, from the strong odor produced when the leaves are broken or torn.

Usage

Inflected Forms

skunk cabbages (plural)

Synonyms

lysichiton americanum polecat weed foetid pothos symplocarpus foetidus

Questions

What does skunk cabbage mean?: Any of several leafy, foul-smelling plants, especially Symplocarpus foetidus, a low-growing plant native to the wetlands of eastern North America, but also denoting Lysichiton americanus and Lysichiton camtschatcense.
Where does skunk cabbage come from?: From skunk + cabbage, from the strong odor produced when the leaves are broken or torn.

How to pronounce skunk cabbage

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