sainfoin

American  

[seyn-foin] / ˈseɪn fɔɪn /

noun

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

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sainfoin British  

/ ˈsænfɔɪn /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of sainfoin

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

Example Sentences

Fiver and Acorn followed him out and fell to nibbling at a patch of sainfoin.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

But the methods followed in obtaining seed from alfalfa would probably also answer equally well for sainfoin.

From Clovers and How to Grow Them by Shaw, Thomas

A brace of partridges rose out of the sainfoin, and flew down the hills; and watching their curving flight Esther and William saw the sea under the sun-setting, and the string of coast towns.

From Esther Waters by Moore, George (George Augustus)

The land that has been lost to the plough is found to be still further augmented when an inquiry is instituted into the area devoted to clover, sainfoin and grasses under rotation.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

Corn, rye and sainfoin were already very advanced, all here testifying to highly scientific farming; and elsewhere roots were being sown.

From In the Heart of the Vosges And Other Sketches by a "Devious Traveller" by Betham-Edwards, Matilda