beggar's ticks
beggar's ticks noun: the bur marigold (Bidens spp.) and its achenes, which are armed with barbed awns that adhere to clothing.
Noun
beggar's ticks (uncountable)
- The bur marigold (Bidens spp.) and its achenes, which are armed with barbed awns that adhere to clothing.
- Synonyms:
- bur marigold, butterfly needles, cobbler's pegs, shepherd's needle, Spanish needles, stickseed, tickseed, tickseed sunflower
Synonyms of beggar's ticks
- bur marigold
- butterfly needles
- cobbler's pegs
- shepherd's needle
- Spanish needles
- stickseed
- tickseed
- tickseed sunflower
Forms of beggar's ticks
| alternative form | beggartick |
|---|---|
| alternative form | beggarticks |
| alternative form | beggar-ticks |
Origin of beggar's ticks
From the notion of a beggar sleeping rough and acquiring a coating of the seeds, which stick to the body like ticks. Compare beggar's lice, beggar's buttons.
Questions about beggar's ticks
- What does beggar's ticks mean?
- Beggar's ticks means the bur marigold (Bidens spp.) and its achenes, which are armed with barbed awns that adhere to clothing.
- What part of speech is beggar's ticks?
- Beggar's ticks is a noun.
Words near beggar's ticks in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: beggar's ticks (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “beggar's ticks.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/beggar%27s_ticks. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.