American Dictionary of the English Language

CHICK-WEED, noun A plant of the genus Alsine, which includes many species. The common chick-weed with white blossoms, affords a remarkable instance of the sleep of plants; for, at night, the leaves approach in pairs, and inclose the tender rudiments of the young shoots. The leaves are cooling and nutritive, and are deemed excellent food for persons of a consumptive habit. They are deemed useful also for swelled breasts.