"Patterson's curse" meaning in English

See Patterson's curse in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: en-au-Patterson's curse.ogg [Australia] Forms: Paterson's curse [alternative]
Etymology: Said to be named after the Patterson family who had it as an ornamental garden plant which spread and took over adjacent previously productive paddocks (though this was not the first large outbreak). Head templates: {{en-noun|-}} Patterson's curse (uncountable)
  1. (Australia) The plant Echium plantagineum, considered a noxious weed in Australia. Tags: Australia, uncountable Synonyms: Lady Campbell, salvation Jane, Riverina bluebell

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_text": "Said to be named after the Patterson family who had it as an ornamental garden plant which spread and took over adjacent previously productive paddocks (though this was not the first large outbreak).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Paterson's curse",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Patterson's curse (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Australian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Borage family plants",
          "orig": "en:Borage family plants",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1905 J. H. Maiden, Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales, xvi.268, Quoted in 1985, G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, second edition, Sydney University Press, →ISBN,\nThat ‘Paterson’s Curse’ produces some feed is undoubted, but it is a smothering, rough, coarse plant ... the vernacular name ‘Curse’ shows what many people think of it."
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              101,
              118
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1952, Glynde Nesta Griffiths, Some Southern Homes of New South Wales, page 20:",
          "text": "In spring the fields near the river are covered with beautiful mauve flowers, another pest, known as Patterson’s curse.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "text": "1991, Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Landscope: The Journal of the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Volumes 7-9, page 42,\nA plant with tough seeds such as Patterson’s curse (Echium plantagineum) or caltrop (Tribulus terrestris) can easily be spread in this way, as can plants that reproduce vegetatively."
        },
        {
          "text": "1995, John Marsden, A Killing Frost, 1998 US edition (originally published 1995, in Australia, as The Third Day, The Frost), unnumbered page,\nThey came swarming across the land, like locusts, like mice, like Patterson’s Curse."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The plant Echium plantagineum, considered a noxious weed in Australia."
      ],
      "id": "en-Patterson's_curse-en-noun-r8~74n2y",
      "links": [
        [
          "Echium plantagineum",
          "Echium plantagineum#Translingual"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Australia) The plant Echium plantagineum, considered a noxious weed in Australia."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "Lady Campbell"
        },
        {
          "word": "salvation Jane"
        },
        {
          "word": "Riverina bluebell"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "audio": "en-au-Patterson's curse.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/77/En-au-Patterson%27s_curse.ogg/En-au-Patterson%27s_curse.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/En-au-Patterson%27s_curse.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "Patterson's curse"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "Said to be named after the Patterson family who had it as an ornamental garden plant which spread and took over adjacent previously productive paddocks (though this was not the first large outbreak).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Paterson's curse",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Patterson's curse (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Australian English",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English eponyms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncountable nouns",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "en:Borage family plants"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "1905 J. H. Maiden, Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales, xvi.268, Quoted in 1985, G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, second edition, Sydney University Press, →ISBN,\nThat ‘Paterson’s Curse’ produces some feed is undoubted, but it is a smothering, rough, coarse plant ... the vernacular name ‘Curse’ shows what many people think of it."
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              101,
              118
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1952, Glynde Nesta Griffiths, Some Southern Homes of New South Wales, page 20:",
          "text": "In spring the fields near the river are covered with beautiful mauve flowers, another pest, known as Patterson’s curse.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "text": "1991, Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Landscope: The Journal of the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management, Volumes 7-9, page 42,\nA plant with tough seeds such as Patterson’s curse (Echium plantagineum) or caltrop (Tribulus terrestris) can easily be spread in this way, as can plants that reproduce vegetatively."
        },
        {
          "text": "1995, John Marsden, A Killing Frost, 1998 US edition (originally published 1995, in Australia, as The Third Day, The Frost), unnumbered page,\nThey came swarming across the land, like locusts, like mice, like Patterson’s Curse."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The plant Echium plantagineum, considered a noxious weed in Australia."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Echium plantagineum",
          "Echium plantagineum#Translingual"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Australia) The plant Echium plantagineum, considered a noxious weed in Australia."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-Patterson's curse.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/77/En-au-Patterson%27s_curse.ogg/En-au-Patterson%27s_curse.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/En-au-Patterson%27s_curse.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "Lady Campbell"
    },
    {
      "word": "salvation Jane"
    },
    {
      "word": "Riverina bluebell"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Patterson's curse"
}

Download raw JSONL data for Patterson's curse meaning in English (2.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-08-28 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-08-05 using wiktextract (872fc7b and 4deed51). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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