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

See Examples For:

sainfoin

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

Besides beetroot for sugar, clover and sainfoin are grown, little or no barley, and neither turnips nor mangel-wurzel.

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

It feeds on the wild heartsease, also on sainfoin and borage.

From British Butterfiles Figures and Descriptions of Every Native Species by Coleman, W. S. (William Stephen)

Fine sainfoin crops are grown, and black oats likewise do well.

From A Cotswold Village by Gibbs, J. Arthur