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alfilaria

[al-fil-uh-ree-uh]
noun
  1. a European plant, Erodium cicutarium, of the geranium family, grown for forage in the U.S.
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Origin of alfilaria

1865–70, Americanism; < Spanish alfilerillo, equivalent to alfiler pin (< Arabic al-khilāl the pin) + -illo diminutive suffix
Also called pin clover.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for alfilaria

Historical Examples of alfilaria

  • The Geranium, like the Alfilaria, has a fruit resembling the long beak of the crane or stork.

    Flowers of Mountain and Plain

    Edith S. Clements

  • There had been many winter snows and spring rains, so that the alfilaria covered the hills with a carpet of grass.

    Mavericks

    William MacLeod Raine

British Dictionary definitions for alfilaria

alfilaria

alfileria

noun
  1. a geraniaceous plant, Erodium cicutarium, native to Europe, with finely divided leaves and small pink or purplish flowers. It is widely naturalized in North America and is used as fodderAlso called: pin clover
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Word Origin for alfilaria

via American Spanish from Spanish alfilerillo, from alfiler pin, from Arabic al-khilāl the thorn
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