Related Searches
on Ask.com
alfalfa - 4 dictionary results
al⋅fal⋅fa
[al-fal-fuh] 
–noun
| a plant, Medicago sativa, of the legume family, usually having bluish-purple flowers, originating in the Near East and widely cultivated as a forage crop. |
Also called lucerne, purple medic.
Origin:
1835–45; < Sp, var. of alfalfez < SpAr al the + faṣfaṣah < Pers ispist lucerne
1835–45; < Sp, var. of alfalfez < SpAr al the + faṣfaṣah < Pers ispist lucerne
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
|
Link To alfalfa
| al·fal·fa (āl-fāl'fə) n. A southwest Asian perennial herb (Medicago sativa) having compound leaves with three leaflets and clusters of usually blue-violet flowers. It is widely cultivated as a pasture and hay crop. [Spanish, from Arabic al-faṣfaṣa : al-, the + faṣfaṣa, alfalfa (variant of fiṣfiṣa, from Persian aspist, clover).] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Alfalfa
Al*fal"fa\, n. [Sp.] (Bot.) The lucern (Medicago sativa); -- so called in California, Texas, etc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
alfalfa
1845, from Sp. alfalfa, earlier alfalfez, from Arabic al-fisfisa "fresh fodder."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
