peat

¹

[peet]

noun

1. a highly organic material found in marshy or damp regions, composed of partially decayed vegetable matter: it is cut and dried for use as fuel.

2. such vegetable matter used as fertilizer or fuel.

peat

²

[peet]

noun

1. Obsolete.,  a merry young girl; darling (used as a term of endearment).

peat

¹

/ piːt /

noun

1. 1. a compact brownish deposit of partially decomposed vegetable matter saturated with water: found in uplands and bogs in temperate and cold regions and used as a fuel (when dried) and as a fertilizer

   2. ( as modifier )

      peat bog

2. a piece of dried peat for use as fuel

peat

²

/ piːt /

noun

1. archaic,  a person, esp a woman

2. obsolete,  a term of endearment for a girl or woman

peat

1. Partially decayed vegetable matter, especially peat moss, found in bogs. The low levels of oxygen and the acidic environment in bogs prevent the degradation of peat. Peat is burned as fuel and also used as fertilizer.

2. See more at bog

Other Word Forms

• peaty adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of peat¹

1300–50; Middle English pete (compare Anglo-Latin peta ) < ?

Origin of peat²

First recorded in 1560–70; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of peat¹

C14: from Anglo-Latin peta, perhaps from Celtic; compare Welsh peth thing

Origin of peat²

C16: of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

To investigate how and when these environments developed, the researchers examined peat samples collected from South America, Australasia, southern Africa and the sub-Antarctic islands.

Read more on Science Daily

Part of the reasoning in 2018 was site investigations found the ground underlain with peat deposits, as well as toxic and phytotoxic - meaning poisonous to plants - risk from shallow soils.

Read more on BBC

He noted that “holdover” is also used to describe peat bog fires that burn many feet below the surface for weeks or months, even under snowpack.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In parts of the Highland landscape the fires penetrated deep, burning away peat that would have formed thousands of years ago.

Read more on BBC

Coconut fibers broken down by millipedes may serve as a sustainable replacement for peat moss, a material commonly used to start seedlings but often sourced from fragile wetland ecosystems.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• earth 
• grass 
• ground 
• sod 
• soil 
• terrain 
• territory 
• track