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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
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use alfalfa in a sentence
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
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