mesquite

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: Mes=quite

CIDE DICTIONARY

mesquite, n. [Sp. mezquite; said to be a Mexican Indian word.].

 Aany of several small spiny trees or shrubs of the southwestern part of North America belonging to the genus Prosopis having small flowers in axillary cylindrical spikes followed by large sugar-rich pods, especially the honey mesquite, and screw-pod mesquite.  [1913 Webster]

Honey mesquite. See Algaroba (b). -- Screw-pod mesquite, a smaller tree (Prosopis pubescens), having spiral pods used as fodder and sometimes as food by the Indians. -- Mesquite grass, a rich native grass in Western Texas (Bouteloua oligostachya, and other species); -- so called from its growing in company with the mesquite tree; -- called also muskit grass, grama grass.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

mesquite, n. (also mesquit) any N. American leguminous tree of the genus Prosopis, esp. P. juliflora.

Idiom

mesquite bean a pod from the mesquite, used as fodder.

Etymology

Mex. Sp. mezquite