alfalfa

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a perennial legume, Medicago sativa, grown widely for hay, animal feed, and soil improvement

   The farmer irrigated the alfalfa before cutting it for hay.

2. 2
   noun

   the young shoots of this plant, eaten as sprouts

   She added alfalfa sprouts to the sandwich for extra crunch.

Borrowed from Spanish alfalfa, from Arabic al-fasfasa, the name of the fodder plant. The crop spread westward through the Arabic-speaking world and Spain before its Spanish name entered American English.

Topics

External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary