couch grass

1 7.5

A European grass with long underground roots that spreads quickly and becomes a common weed

noun
/kaʊtʃ ɡræs/

: pasto de couch

Despite its invasive nature, couch grass can sometimes provide good ground cover in a lawn.

Examples

And what would you expect if you gulped down wormwood and couch-grass on an empty stomach?

Fiction book (1996)
On the ground covered with couch grass, the horse's steps became so muffled that they could not be heard amidst the manifold murmurings of tepid night and moonlight.

Fiction book (1995)
The garden was overrun with couch grass, which quickly spread throughout the flower beds.
To control the growth of couch grass, she regularly pulled it up by the roots.

Synonyms

quack grass

vscouch grass

8.8

A common weed with long stems under the ground that spreads quickly through lawns

is the common term for that invasive plant rather than the technical name

Agropyron repens

vscouch grass

9.9

A fast-spreading European grass with long underground stems that is a common weed in gardens and fields

is the everyday term used instead of the scientific name

dog grass

vscouch grass

8.4

A grass from Europe that spreads quickly by stems under the ground and is a weed in North America

is the more general name for that invasive plant

quick grass

vscouch grass

Specialized

7.5

A fast-spreading grass with creeping roots that grows as a weed

is the common term that does not stress speed of spread

means grass

vscouch grass

Specialized

8.9

A tall grass that spreads by creeping roots and feeds animals but can be a farm pest

is used mainly for its invasive weed sense rather than as useful fodder

Surface Forms

couch grass singular

couch grasses plural

Morphology

couch + grass

The compound structure makes it clear that this is a kind of grass (the headword 'grass' signals a plant type), so a B1 learner who knows 'couch' and 'grass' would likely guess it is a species of grass. However, the semantic contribution of 'couch' is not the familiar 'sofa' sense and does not transparently convey the specific properties (creeping rhizomes, invasive habit), so the full, specific meaning is not predictable from the parts.

Etymology

The plant couch grass probably got its name from couch, an old word meaning 'to lie down'. Its long, creeping roots and stems lie under the soil and quickly spread, so the name fits this hard-to-remove grass.