tussock
[ tuhs-uh k ]
/ ˈtʌs ək /
noun
a tuft or clump of growing grass or the like.
Nearby words
tussie-mussie, tussis, tussive, tussive fremitus, tussle, tussock, tussock caterpillar, tussock grass, tussock moth, tussocky, tussore
Origin of tussock
1540–50; apparently akin to Middle High German zūsach thicket, derivative of zūse lock (of hair), brushwood. See -ock
Related formstus·socked, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for tussock
British Dictionary definitions for tussock
tussock
/ (ˈtʌsək) /
noun
a dense tuft of vegetation, esp of grass
Australian and NZ
- short for tussock grass
- the tussock country where tussock grass grows
Derived Formstussocky, adjective
Word Origin for tussock
C16: perhaps related to tusk
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
Word Origin and History for tussock
tussock
1540s, "tuft of hair," of uncertain origin; cf. earlier tusk (1520s) with the same meaning (and also of obscure origin). Meaning "tuft of grass" is first recorded c.1600.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper