alfilaria

[ al-fil-uh-ree-uh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a European plant, Erodium cicutarium, of the geranium family, grown for forage in the U.S.

alfilaria

/ ˌælfɪˈlɛərɪə /

a geraniaceous plant, Erodium cicutarium, native to Europe, with finely divided leaves and small pink or purplish flowers. It is widely naturalized in North America and is used as fodder Also calledpin clover

1865–70, Americanism; < Spanish alfilerillo, equivalent to alfiler pin (< Arabic al-khilāl the pin) + -illo diminutive suffix

via American Spanish from Spanish alfilerillo, from alfiler pin, from Arabic al-khilāl the thorn

In winter, the ground was thickly covered with burr-clover and the poetically-named alfilaria.

There had been many winter snows and spring rains, so that the alfilaria covered the hills with a carpet of grass.

The Geranium, like the Alfilaria, has a fruit resembling the long beak of the crane or stork.

The cow was mooing reproachfully in a cropped circle of musky alfilaria behind the shed.

April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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