vetch
any of several mostly climbing plants belonging to the genus Vicia, of the legume family, having pinnate leaves ending in tendrils and bearing pealike flowers, especially V. sativa(spring vetch ), cultivated for forage and soil improvement.
any of various allied plants, as Lathyrus sativus, of Europe, cultivated for their edible seeds and for forage.
the beanlike seed or fruit of any such plant.
Origin of vetch
1Other words from vetch
- vetchlike, adjective
Words Nearby vetch
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use vetch in a sentence
Next, Fieber-Beyer will try growing hairy vetch seeds in that faux asteroid dirt, let the plants decay and then mix the dead plant matter throughout the soil.
Astronauts might be able to use asteroid soil to grow crops | Liz Kruesi | July 29, 2022 | Science News"But just look at me for a moment, pet, as you go by," cried the purple vetch by the hedge.
Wood Magic | Richard JefferiesThe other name for the vetch is Tares, which is, no doubt, an old English word that has never been satisfactorily explained.
The plant-lore and garden-craft of Shakespeare | Henry Nicholson EllacombeThink of the divine old man growing a sort of vetch in his garden to cram his pockets with for the deer in Kensington Garden.
Then, glancing toward the door, she asked breathlessly, "Didn't Gideon vetch come with you?"
One Man in His Time | Ellen Glasgow
It never ceased, this piteous sobbing, until at last the doctor went out, and left Corinna alone with the girl and Gideon vetch.
One Man in His Time | Ellen Glasgow
British Dictionary definitions for vetch
/ (vɛtʃ) /
any of various climbing leguminous plants of the temperate genus Vicia, esp V. sativa, having pinnate leaves, typically blue or purple flowers, and tendrils on the stems
any of various similar and related plants, such as Lathyrus sativus, cultivated in parts of Europe, and the kidney vetch
the beanlike fruit of any of these plants
Origin of vetch
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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