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Glite Dictionary
🌾 A grass 🌳 A thorny tree
cockspur

cockspur

9.9
A short grass grown for hay and to feed animals
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : hierba cockspur
  • The field was covered in cockspur, providing ample grazing for the cattle.

Examples

  • Farmers often cultivate cockspur for hay.

  • Some gardeners consider cockspur a weed because of its rapid growth in open ground.

  • Farmers often harvest cockspur for use as hay during the dry season.

  • The field was filled with cockspur grass.

  • Farmers often harvest cockspur grass for use as hay during the dry season.

  • The field was covered in cockspur, providing ample grazing for the cattle.

  • Some gardeners consider cockspur grass a weed because of its rapid growth in open ground.

Compounds

cockspur hawthorn
  • Specialized
9.9

A small tree from eastern North America with long straight thorns and white flowers

cockspur thorn
  • Specialized
9.9

A small tree or bush from eastern North America with long sharp thorns, white flowers, and red berries

Surface Forms

cockspur singular
cockspurs plural

Morphology

cockspur = cock + spur (opaque) = cock + spur

While 'cock' and 'spur' are clear components, the specific meaning as a type of grass is not directly derivable from the components.

Etymology

Cockspur comes from the two parts cock and spur, where cock means 'rooster' and spur means 'spike'. The grass has stiff, spiky seed heads like a rooster's spur, so farmers and gardeners call it cockspur.