herbage
English
Etymology
From Middle English herbage, erbage, from Middle French herbage and Old French erbage, from Medieval Latin herbaticum, from Latin herba (“grass”); alternatively, herb + -age.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhəːbɪdʒ/
Noun
herbage (usually uncountable, plural herbages)
- Herbs collectively.
- Herbaceous plant growth, especially grass.
- 1841, Edgar Allan Poe, ‘A Descent into the Maelström’:
- I threw myself upon my face, and clung to the scant herbage in an excess of nervous agitation.
- 1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country, Nebraska 2005, p. 97:
- The dank breath of herbage, sodden with rain, came to her; the mists were barely visible, hovering above the dark ravines.
- 1841, Edgar Allan Poe, ‘A Descent into the Maelström’:
- The fleshy, often edible, parts of plants.
- (law) The natural pasture of a land, considered as distinct from the land itself; hence, right of pasture (on another man's land).
Translations
herbs collectively
|
herbaceous plant growth, especially grass
|
fleshy, often edible, parts of plants
|
right of pasture
|
French
Etymology
From Old French erbage, from Medieval Latin herbāticum, from Latin herba (“grass”); equivalent to herbe + -age.
Pronunciation
- (mute h) IPA(key): /ɛʁ.baʒ/
Noun
herbage m (plural herbages)
- pasture
Related terms
- herbe
Further reading
- “herbage”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Middle English
Alternative forms
- erbage, herbaige, yerbage
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French herbage, and Old French erbage, from Medieval Latin herbaticum; equivalent to herbe + -age.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛrˈbaːd͡ʒ(ə)/, /ɛːrˈbaːd͡ʒ(ə)/
Noun
herbage (uncountable)
- Herbage (herbaceous plants, especially grass)
- Vegetables; garden plants.
- The right of pasture.
Descendants
- English: herbage
References
- “herbāǧe, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.