esparto

or espar·to grass

[ih-spahr-toh]

noun, plural es·par·tos.

any of several grasses, especially Stipa tenacissima, of southern Europe and northern Africa, used for making paper, cordage, etc.

Origin of esparto

1585–95; < Spanish < Latin spartum < Greek spárton rope made of spártos kind of rush

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for esparto

Historical Examples of esparto

Its chief exports are esparto grass, sponges, and dye-stuffs.
Commercial Geography
Jacques W. Redway
Esparto is a kind of grass now much used in the manufacture of paper.
Hours of Exercise in the Alps
John Tyndall
(C) Esparto is frequently bleached by the “steeping” process.
The Manufacture of Paper
Robert Walter Sindall
A fibre called alfa, a variety of esparto, which grows wild on the high plateaux, is exported in large quantities.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1
Various
Alfa, al′fa, n. an African name for esparto grass—also spelt Halfa.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for esparto

esparto

esparto grass

noun plural -tos

any of various grasses, esp Stipa tenacissima of S Europe and N Africa, that yield a fibre used to make ropes, mats, etc

Word Origin for esparto

C18: from Spanish, via Latin from Greek sparton rope made of rushes, from spartos a kind of rush

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