Word Study
sedge
CIDE DICTIONARY
sedge, n. [OE. segge, AS. secg; akin to LG. segge; -- probably named from its bladelike appearance, and akin to L. secare to cut, E. saw a cutting instrument; cf. Ir. seisg, W. hesg. Cf. Hassock, Saw the instrument.].
- Any plant of the genus
Carex , perennial, endogenous, innutritious herbs, often growing in dense tufts in marshy places. They have triangular jointless stems, a spiked inflorescence, and long grasslike leaves which are usually rough on the margins and midrib. There are several hundred species. [1913 Webster]" The name is sometimes given to any other plant of the orderCyperaceæ , which includesCarex ,Cyperus ,Scirpus , and many other genera of rushlike plants." [1913 Webster] - A flock of herons. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
sedge, n.
1 any grasslike plant of the genus Carex with triangular stems, usu. growing in wet areas.
2 an expanse of this plant.
1 any grasslike plant of the genus Carex with triangular stems, usu. growing in wet areas.
2 an expanse of this plant.
Idiom
sedge-warbler (or -wren) a small warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, that breeds in sedge.
Derivative
sedgy adj.
Etymology
OE secg f. Gmc
ROGET THESAURUS
sedge
Vegetable
N vegetable, vegetable kingdom, flora, verdure, plant, tree, shrub, bush, creeper, herb, herbage, grass, annual, perennial, biennial, triennial, exotic, timber, forest, wood, woodlands, timberland, hurst, frith, holt, weald, park, chase, greenwood, brake, grove, copse, coppice, bocage, tope, clump of trees, thicket, spinet, spinney, underwood, brushwood, scrub, boscage, bosk, ceja, chaparal, motte, arboretum, bush, jungle, prairie, heath, heather, fern, bracken, furze, gorse, whin, grass, turf, pasture, pasturage, turbary, sedge, rush, weed, fungus, mushroom, toadstool, lichen, moss, conferva, mold, growth, alfalfa, alfilaria, banyan, blow, blowth, floret, petiole, pin grass, timothy, yam, yew, zinnia, foliage, branch, bough, ramage, stem, tigella, spray, leaf, flower, blossom, bine, flowering plant, timber tree, fruit tree, pulse, legume, vegetable, vegetal, vegetive, vegitous, herbaceous, herbal, botanic, sylvan, silvan, arborary, arboreous, arborescent, arborical, woody, grassy, verdant, verdurous, floral, mossy, lignous, ligneous, wooden, leguminous, vosky, cespitose, turf-like, turfy, endogenous, exogenous, green-robed senators of mighty woods, this is the forest primeval.For further exploring for "sedge" in Webster Dictionary Online