alfalfa

[ al-fal-fuh ]

/ ælˈfæl fə /

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noun

a plant, Medicago sativa, of the legume family, usually having bluish-purple flowers, originating in western Asia and widely cultivated as a forage crop.

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Also called lucerne, purple medic.

Origin of alfalfa

First recorded in 1835–45; from Spanish, variant of alfalfez, from Spanish Arabic al “the” + faṣfaṣah from Persian ispist “lucerne”

Words nearby alfalfa

Alexius I, Alexius I Comnenus, aleyard, Alf, Alfa, alfalfa, alfalfa butterfly, alfalfa weevil, Al Farabi, Alfaro, Al Fatah

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use alfalfa in a sentence

When he brings his cattle to eat the alfalfa, they will spread their waste across the fields and trammel old vegetation into the earth.
A recipe for fighting climate change and feeding the world|Sarah Kaplan|October 12, 2021|Washington Post
A majority of the water used by farms — and thus much of the river — goes to growing nonessential crops like alfalfa and other grasses that feed cattle for meat production.
40 Million People Rely on the Colorado River. It’s Drying Up Fast.|by Abrahm Lustgarten|August 27, 2021|ProPublica
In his younger days, Ed cut alfalfa with a team of horses, and lived the progression from horse to tractor.
The ballad of the Chowchilla bus kidnapping|Kaleb Horton|July 23, 2021|Vox
The 475-square-foot shop is extending its hours for summer, and debuting new picnic-ready sandwiches such as the Top Knot, a sub topped with turkey, cheddar, green apple slices, alfalfa sprouts and a slather of rosé-infused mayo.
6 pop-up restaurants you should try this summer|Adele Chapin|July 14, 2021|Washington Post

As it’s there, microbes are breaking down the body and breaking down the wood chips, alfalfa, and straw to create this beautiful soil.
The startup turning human bodies into compost|Katie McLean|October 21, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The Alfalfa Club dinner crowd in tiaras was the order of the night.
Staking Out Kissinger’s 90th-Birthday Party|Nina Strochlic|June 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A small flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, known as alfalfa.
Obama’s Organic Game|Eve Conant|October 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST
They will concentrate instead on farming their 1,900 acres of alfalfa, 1,600 acres of corn, and 1,400 acres of soybeans.
Iowa Straw Poll Drawing Yawns|Lauren Ashburn|August 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST
He was presented with a special Alfalfa medallion for a lifetime of civility, good cheer, and good fellowship.
Alfalfa Club Dinner 2011: Highlights|Sandra McElwaine|January 30, 2011|DAILY BEAST
They grew up as crop and dairy farmers in Iowa, tending corn, soy, alfalfa, hay, oats and clover.
An American Prairie Feast|Sophie Menin|July 17, 2010|DAILY BEAST
I'll try alfalfa in that field next and then I'll rub Aladdin's lamp.
Patchwork|Anna Balmer Myers
Alfalfa, al-fal′fa, n. a Spanish name for a variety of lucerne—used also in some parts of the United States.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various
After three o'clock I sat here in a cool room by an open window watching Papa mow alfalfa and the men stack grain.
The American Country Girl|Martha Foote Crow
Here he owns two hundred acres of alfalfa land and he is also engaged quite extensively in dairying and in fruit raising.
Lyman's History of old Walla Walla County, Vol. 2 (of 2)|William Denison Lyman
Four ploughs were kept steadily at work, and the ground was sown with alfalfa or lucern, as fast as it was got into condition.
Out on the Pampas|G. A. Henty

British Dictionary definitions for alfalfa

alfalfa

/ (ælˈfælfə) /

noun

a leguminous plant, Medicago sativa, of Europe and Asia, having compound leaves with three leaflets and clusters of small purplish flowers. It is widely cultivated for forage and as a nitrogen fixer and used as a commercial source of chlorophyllAlso called: lucerne

Word Origin for alfalfa

C19: from Spanish, from Arabic al-fasfasah, from al the + fasfasah the best sort of fodder

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012