sprig

/sprɪg/

/sprɪg/

Other forms: sprigs; sprigging

Spruce up your iced tea with a sprig of mint from the yard. A sprig is a cutting, stem, or small branch. A sprig is prettier than a twig because it often has leaves or flowers.

As the stem of a plant, a sprig usually includes leaves and berries or flowers, like a sprig of holly on your front door at Christmas, or a sprig of rosemary as a garnish on your plate at dinner. Botanists, or plant scientists, think of sprigs as cuttings from plants that can be planted in soil and grown, like a sprig from a crocus or strawberry plant. The process of planting sprigs even has a name—sprigging.

Definitions of sprig

1. noun

   a small branch or division of a branch (especially a terminal division); usually applied to branches of the current or preceding year
   synonyms: branchlet, twig

   types:

   brier

   a thorny stem or twig

   wand

   a thin supple twig or rod

   withe, withy

   strong flexible twig

   osier

   flexible twig of a willow tree

   type of:

   branch

   a division of a stem, or secondary stem arising from the main stem of a plant
2. noun

   an ornament that is made of or that resembles a spray of leaves or flowers
   type of:

   decoration, ornament, ornamentation

   something used to beautify