alfalfa

American  

[al-fal-fuh] / ælˈfæl fə /

noun

alfalfas plural

1. 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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alfalfa British  

/ ælˈfælfə /

noun

1. Also called: lucerne.  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 chlorophyll

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• alfalfas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of alfalfa

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

Explanation

Alfalfa is a plant that's often grown to feed livestock. Hay is commonly made from the dried alfalfa plant. Alfalfa is a flowering perennial, a plant that returns every year, although it's best known as food for dairy cattle and other livestock animals. When the plant is harvested and dried, it's often made into hay, and it's a popular feed because it's high in protein. If you're not a farmer, you may be most familiar with the sprouted form of alfalfa, which many people eat on salads. The word comes from an Arabic root, al-fisfisa, "fresh fodder."

Example Sentences

Alfalfa and other types of hay are especially water-intensive crops.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2024

The reason for this is simple: Alfalfa is a lucrative business.

From Salon • Oct. 17, 2023

Here, “cowlick” can mean either a bald spot or a tuft of hair sticking straight up, like the one the character Alfalfa sports in The Little Rascals.

From Scientific American • Aug. 18, 2023

Alfalfa, for example, grown by farmers for livestock feed, is considered a high protein source coming in at 18%.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2023

Anybody could break up a Chi Yi initiation, and the Alfalfa Delts were a set of narrow-chested snobs with automobile callouses instead of muscles.

From At Good Old Siwash by Fitch, George