n. any plant of the genus Euphorbia, exuding an acrid milky juice once used medicinally as a purgative.
Phrases and idioms:
spurge laurel any shrub of the genus Daphne, esp. D. laureola, with small yellow flowers.
Etymology: ME f. OF espurge f. espurgier f. L expurgare (as EX-(1), PURGE)