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Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
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Samphire was formerly a favourite pickle; hence the “dangerous trade” of the samphire gatherer (“King Lear,” act iv. sc. 6) who supplied the demand. It was sold in the streets, and one of the old London cries was “I ha’ Rock Samphier, Rock Samphier!”
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Kevin Peter Link to this
Definition from hyperdictionary.com
SAMPHIRE
Pronunciation: 'sam`fIr
WordNet Dictionary
Definition: [n] fleshy maritime plant having fleshy stems with rudimentary scalelike leaves and small spikes of minute flowers; formerly used in making glass
Synonyms: glasswort, Salicornia europaea
See Also: genus Salicornia, herb, herbaceous plant, Salicornia
Webster's 1913 Dictionary
Definition: \Sam"phire\ (? or ?; 277), n. [F. l'herbe de Saint
Pierre. See {Saint}, and {Petrel}.] (Bot.)
(a) A fleshy, suffrutescent, umbelliferous European plant
({Crithmum maritimum}). It grows among rocks and on
cliffs along the seacoast, and is used for pickles.
Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade!
--Shak.
(b) The species of glasswort ({Salicornia herbacea}); --
called in England {marsh samphire}.
(c) A seashore shrub ({Borrichia arborescens}) of the West
Indies.
Pedro. Link to this
Rock samphire (Crithmum maritimum).
The cliff-growing rock samphire described in King Lear, in a scene near Dover, has Edgar say to Gloucester,