Grass

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Grass, n. [OE. gras, gres, gers, AS, græs, gærs; akin to OFries. gres, gers, OS., D., G., Icel., & Goth. gras, Dan. græs, Sw. gr, and prob. to E. green, grow. Cf. Graze.].

•  Popularly: Herbage; the plants which constitute the food of cattle and other beasts; pasture.  [1913 Webster]
•  An endogenous plant having simple leaves, a stem generally jointed and tubular, the husks or glumes in pairs, and the seed single.  [1913 Webster]

  " This definition includes wheat, rye, oats, barley, etc., and excludes clover and some other plants which are commonly called by the name of grass. The grasses form a numerous family of plants."  [1913 Webster]
•  The season of fresh grass; spring.  [1913 Webster]

  "Two years old next grass."  [1913 Webster]
•  Metaphorically used for what is transitory.  [1913 Webster]

  "Surely the people is grass."  [1913 Webster]
•  Marijuana.  [PJC]

  " The following list includes most of the grasses of the United States of special interest, except cereals. Many of these terms will be found with definitions in the Vocabulary. See Illustrations in Appendix."

  " Many plants are popularly called grasses which are not true grasses botanically considered, such as black grass, goose grass, star grass, etc."  [1913 Webster]

Black grass, a kind of small rush (Juncus Gerardi), growing in salt marshes, used for making salt hay. -- Grass of the Andes, an oat grass, the Arrhenatherum avenaceum of Europe.-- Grass of Parnassus, a plant of the genus Parnassia growing in wet ground. The European species is Parnassia palustris; in the United States there are several species. -- Grass bass (Zoöl.), the calico bass. -- Grass bird, the dunlin. -- Grass cloth, a cloth woven from the tough fibers of the grass-cloth plant. -- Grass-cloth plant, a perennial herb of the Nettle family (Bœhmeria nivea syn. Urtica nivea), which grows in Sumatra, China, and Assam, whose inner bark has fine and strong fibers suited for textile purposes. -- Grass finch. (Zoöl.) (a) A common American sparrow (Poöcætes gramineus); -- called also vesper sparrow and bay-winged bunting. (b) Any Australian finch, of the genus Poëphila, of which several species are known. -- Grass lamb, a lamb suckled by a dam running on pasture land and giving rich milk.-- Grass land, land kept in grass and not tilled. -- Grass moth (Zoöl.), one of many small moths of the genus Crambus, found in grass. -- Grass oil, a fragrant essential volatile oil, obtained in India from grasses of the genus Andropogon, etc.; -- used in perfumery under the name of citronella, ginger grass oil, lemon grass oil, essence of verbena etc. -- Grass owl (Zoöl.), a South African owl (Strix Capensis). -- Grass parrakeet (Zoöl.), any of several species of Australian parrots, of the genus Euphemia; -- also applied to the zebra parrakeet. -- Grass plover (Zoöl.), the upland or field plover. -- Grass poly (Bot.), a species of willowwort (Lythrum Hyssopifolia). Johnson. -- Crass quit (Zoöl.), one of several tropical American finches of the genus Euetheia. The males have most of the head and chest black and often marked with yellow. -- Grass snake. (Zoöl.) (a) The common English, or ringed, snake (Tropidonotus natrix). (b) The common green snake of the Northern United States. See Green snake, under Green. -- Grass snipe (Zoöl.), the pectoral sandpiper (Tringa maculata); -- called also jacksnipe in America. -- Grass spider (Zoöl.), a common spider (Agelena nævia), which spins flat webs on grass, conspicuous when covered with dew. -- Grass sponge (Zoöl.), an inferior kind of commercial sponge from Florida and the Bahamas. -- Grass table. (Arch.) See Earth table, under Earth. -- Grass vetch (Bot.), a vetch (Lathyrus Nissolia), with narrow grasslike leaves. -- Grass widow. [Cf. Prov. R. an unmarried mother, G. strohwittwe a mock widow, Sw. gräsenka a grass widow.] (a) An unmarried woman who is a mother. [Obs.] (b) A woman separated from her husband by abandonment or prolonged absence; a woman living apart from her husband. [Slang.] -- Grass wrack (Bot.) eelgrass. -- To bring to grass (Mining.), to raise, as ore, to the surface of the ground. -- To put to grass, To put out to grass, to put out to graze a season, as cattle.

Grass, v. t. 

•  To cover with grass or with turf.  [1913 Webster]
•  To expose, as flax, on the grass for bleaching, etc.  [1913 Webster]
•  To bring to the grass or ground; to land; as, to grass a fish.  [1913 Webster]

Grass, v. i. 

 To produce grass.  [1913 Webster]