Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Definition of peat - 4 dictionary results

peat

1[peet]
–noun
1. a highly organic material found in marshy or damp regions, composed of partially decayed vegetable matter: it is cut and dried for use as fuel.
2. such vegetable matter used as fertilizer or fuel.

Origin:
1300–50; ME pete (cf. AL peta) < ?

peat

2[peet]
–noun Obsolete.
a merry young girl; darling (used as a term of endearment).

Origin:
1560–70; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To peat
peat   (pēt)   
n.  Partially carbonized vegetable matter, usually mosses, found in bogs and used as fertilizer and fuel.

[Middle English pete, perhaps from Medieval Latin peta.]
peat'y adj.
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
Word Origin & History

peat 
c.1200, in Scottish-L., probably from O.Celt. root *pett- (cf. Cornish peyth, Welsh peth "quantity, part, thing," O.Ir. pet, Breton pez "piece"). The earliest sense is not of the turf but of the cut piece of it.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see peat on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: