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sward

sward

1 9.6
A layer of ground covered with grass
  • noun
  • /swɔrd/
translation icon : césped
  • The picnic blanket was spread out on the soft green sward under the oak tree.
  • a green sward
  • sward of grass

Examples

  • We walked through a land that was now mists, now dim sunlight, now forest, now open glade, until we came into a silent part of the woods, a silence made of the way the trees grew wetly together and the way the green moss lay in swards and hillocks.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • No one stood in the fortress's circular sward.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Their dreams were always about running over great green swards, the wind through the white manes.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Beyond the woods lay a gently rising sward, a cemetery with gravestones ancient and recent.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • They drew many eyes as they turned upon the close-cropped sward.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Long shadows lay on the sward... and from above the leaves dripped their shimmering drops of gold-green light.

  • Keeping up with Jen seemed a matter of grim survival until at last the green swards of Regent's Park opened up around them in a welcome haven of calm.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • "Here, early spring greeted us in all her loveliness; children were picnicking on the green sward, and lambs and calves nibbled about on the grassy hills," Winston recalled.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Children played soccer on the vibrant sward during the sunny afternoon.

  • After the rain, the sward sparkled with dew, inviting everyone to walk barefoot.

Synonyms

turf
vssward
48 2.7

The top layer of ground held together by grass roots

is the natural surface layer regardless of human use
sod
vssward
11 2.2

A layer of soil with grass and roots held together

is the simple surface layer not specifically bound for laying
greensward
vssward
  • Archaic
1 9.9

An open area covered with green grass in a park or garden

is the surface layer including roots rather than just a grassy area

How Grassy

grassland
20 2.7
sward
1 9.6
lawn
464 1.0

Surface Forms

sward singular
swards plural

Etymology

The word sward comes from an old English word for the ground's surface or 'skin' covered with grass. So, think of a green 'skin' laid over the earth — that's why sward means a grassy surface or turf.