sainfoin

[seyn-foin]

noun

a Eurasian plant, Onobrychis viciifolia, of the legume family, having pinnate leaves and clusters of pink flowers, used for forage.

Origin of sainfoin

1620–30; < French, equivalent to Middle French sain (< Latin sānus healthy) + foin (< Latin fēnum, faenum hay)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sainfoin

Historical Examples of sainfoin

The time to cut it is, as with clover and sainfoin, when it is in early flower.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 1
Various
It feeds on the wild heartsease, also on sainfoin and borage.
British Butterfiles
W. S. Coleman
The feeding value of sainfoin is much the same as that of alfalfa.
Clovers and How to Grow Them
Thomas Shaw
The methods for making alfalfa hay will apply also to sainfoin.
Clovers and How to Grow Them
Thomas Shaw
Sainfoin, as already intimated, is perennial in its habit of growth.
Clovers and How to Grow Them
Thomas Shaw

British Dictionary definitions for sainfoin

sainfoin

noun

a Eurasian perennial leguminous plant, Onobrychis viciifolia, widely grown as a forage crop, having pale pink flowers and curved pods

Word Origin for sainfoin

C17: from French, from Medieval Latin sānum faenum wholesome hay, referring to its former use as a medicine

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