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tussock

[tuhs-uh k]
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noun
  1. a tuft or clump of growing grass or the like.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for tussock

Historical Examples

  • It is built upon a tussock; and a tussock—did you ever try to pull up a tussock?

    The Fall of the Year

    Dallas Lore Sharp

  • It was placed high and dry on a tussock in a flaming patch of hawkweed.

    In the Open

    Stanton Davis Kirkham

  • They were sitting close to each other on a tussock behind their little tent.

  • It flies amongst the tussock grass in a weak and aimless manner.

  • The larva of this insect feeds on the tussock grass (Poa australis).

British Dictionary definitions for tussock

tussock

noun
  1. a dense tuft of vegetation, esp of grass
  2. Australian and NZ
    1. short for tussock grass
    2. the tussockcountry where tussock grass grows
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Derived Formstussocky, adjective

Word Origin

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

n.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper