Removing unwanted plants from a garden or field, or removing unwanted things or people from a group.
From weed, which comes from Old English weod. Originally just meant any unwanted plant, extended metaphorically to mean 'getting rid of unwanted elements.'
Weeding is one of gardening's great metaphors for life—'weeding out' bad influences, wasting time, or inefficient workers uses language that reminds us: some things just don't belong in the garden.
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