alfalfa
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al·fal·fa
(ăl-făl′fə)n.
A southwest Asian perennial herb (Medicago sativa) in the pea family, having compound leaves with three leaflets and clusters of usually blue-violet flowers. It is widely cultivated as a pasture and hay crop.
[Spanish, from Arabic al-faṣfaṣa : al-, the + faṣfaṣa, alfalfa (variant of fiṣfiṣa, ultimately (probably via Coptic p-espesta : p-, masculine sing. definite article + espesta, alfalfa) from Aramaic espestā, from Middle Persian aspast, from Old Iranian aspasti- : *aspa-, horse; see ekwo- in Indo-European roots + *-sti-, food, fodder; see ed- in Indo-European roots).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
alfalfa
(ælˈfælfə)n
(Plants) a leguminous plant, Medicago sativa, of Europe and Asia, having compound leaves with three leaflets and clusters of small purplish flowers. It is widely cultivated for forage and as a nitrogen fixer and used as a commercial source of chlorophyll. Also called: lucerne
[C19: from Spanish, from Arabic al-fasfasah, from al the + fasfasah the best sort of fodder]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
al•fal•fa
(ælˈfæl fə)n., pl. -fas.
a plant, Medicago sativa, of the legume family, usu. having bluish purple flowers, originating in the Near East and widely cultivated as a forage crop. Also called lucerne.
[1835–45; < Sp, variant of alfalfez < Spanish Arabic al the + faṣfaṣah]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
alfalfa
A plant with tiny seeds which are sprouted and used in salads or casseroles.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. |  alfalfa - important European leguminous forage plant with trifoliate leaves and blue-violet flowers grown widely as a pasture and hay cropalfalfa - leguminous plant grown for hay or forage |
| 2. |  alfalfa - leguminous plant grown for hay or foragefodder - coarse food (especially for livestock) composed of entire plants or the leaves and stalks of a cereal crop alfalfa, lucerne, Medicago sativa - important European leguminous forage plant with trifoliate leaves and blue-violet flowers grown widely as a pasture and hay crop |
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Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
alfalfa
n (bot) alfalfaEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.