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Glite Dictionary
pin grass

pin grass

9.8
A weed with reddish stems and small purple flowers used as food for farm animals
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : alfileria
  • Cattle in the region often graze on pin grass during the dry season.

Examples

  • Gardeners sometimes plant pin grass as a forage crop for livestock.

  • The slender fruits of pin grass stick straight up after the plant flowers.

  • The pin grass is thriving in the warm climate.

  • Farmers often cultivate pin grasses for their livestock.

  • Cattle in the region often graze on pin grass during the dry season.

  • Gardeners sometimes plant pin grass as a forage crop for livestock.

  • Farmers often cultivate pin grass for its nutritional value as animal feed.

Synonyms

clocks
vspin grass
  • UK
1 9.9

A small wild plant with reddish fernlike leaves and tiny purple flowers that animals eat

includes upright slender fruits as a central identifying trait
Erodium cicutarium
vspin grass
  • Specialized
9.9

A small European weed with reddish stems, fernlike leaves, and pink-purple flowers often eaten by farm animals

is the same plant but given in a more general description
alfileria
vspin grass
  • US
9.9

A small wild plant with thin red stems and small purple flowers that gives food to animals in spring

focuses on the same plant but keeps a broader account of features
redstem storksbill
vspin grass
  • US
9.9

A small plant often found as a weed with red stems, feathery leaves, and pink-purple flowers

shares the species traits but is described in simpler, broader terms
filaree
vspin grass
  • Specialized
9.9

A low plant with reddish stems and leaves like a fern often found in fields and eaten by animals

uses the same forage idea but with less specific fruit wording
pin clover
vspin grass
  • US
9.9

A spreading plant with reddish flowers grown for animal food

mentions the same forage plant while highlighting upright slender fruits instead
filaria
vspin grass
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant from Europe with red stems and lavender flowers grown for animal food

adds upright slender fruits as a defining morphological feature
alfilaria
vspin grass
  • US
9.9

A plant with red creeping stems, fernlike leaves, and small reddish lavender flowers eaten by cattle

focuses on upright slender fruits rather than a creeping stem habit

Surface Forms

pin grass singular
pin grasses plural

Morphology

pin + grass

The noun 'grass' makes it clear to a B1 learner that this refers to a kind of plant, and the modifier 'pin' plausibly suggests a small or pointed quality, so learners can infer it is a type of grass. However, the precise botanical identity and the specific features in the definition (reddish stems, fernlike leaves, forage use) are not predictable from the constituents alone, so the phrase is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The name pin grass may come from the plant's thin, upright seed parts that look like little pins sticking up from the grass. So, the name now refers to a common 'weed' people use as 'forage' for animals.