Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,516,312,189 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

alfalfa

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
al·fal·fa  (l-flf)
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-fafaa : al-, the + fafaa, alfalfa (variant of fifia, from Persian aspist, clover).]
alfalfa
Noun
a plant widely used for feeding farm animals [Arabic al-fasfasah]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.alfalfaalfalfa - important European leguminous forage plant with trifoliate leaves and blue-violet flowers grown widely as a pasture and hay crop
lucerne, Medicago sativa
alfalfa - leguminous plant grown for hay or forage
medic, medick, trefoil - any of several Old World herbs of the genus Medicago having small flowers and trifoliate compound leaves
2.alfalfa - leguminous plant grown for hay or forage
fodder - coarse food (especially for livestock) composed of entire plants or the leaves and stalks of a cereal crop
alfalfa, lucerne, Medicago sativa - important European leguminous forage plant with trifoliate leaves and blue-violet flowers grown widely as a pasture and hay crop


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
The second Sharkey, the alfalfa sportin' writers are callin' him.
The Valley of the Moon by London, Jack View in context
He would never know how sure a breeder was his new bull--the son of that fine creature he had imported; two cows he had spotted as not paying their board could go on for months eating good alfalfa and bran before a new herdsman might become convinced of their unreadiness to turn the expensive feed into white gold; he had not written down the dates when the sows were to farrow, and they might have litters somewhere around the strawstack and crush half the little pigs.
Dust by Haldeman, Julius Mr. and Mrs. View in context
Above the straight line of the uppermost irrigating ditch, all is brown as on a high road; while all below is of as bright a green as verdigris, from the beds of alfalfa, a kind of clover.
The Voyage of the Beagle by Darwin, Charles View in context
More results
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.