grass

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Any plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by leaves that arise from nodes in the stem and leaf bases that wrap around the stem, especially those grown as ground cover rather than for grain.

   Thou turnest man to destruction: and sayest, Returne yee children of men. / For a thousand yeeres in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past: and as a watch in the night. / Thou carriest them away as with a flood, they are as a sleepe: in the morning they are like grasse which groweth vp. / In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth vp: in the euening it is cut downe, and withereth.

2. 2
   noun

   Marijuana.

   Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona / For some California grass

3. 3
   noun

   An informer, police informer; one who betrays a group (of criminals, etc) to the authorities.

   What just happened must remain secret. Don't be a grass.

4. 4
   noun

   Noise on an A-scope or similar type of radar display.

   The problem in radar detection is to have a signal to noise ratio that will allow the echo to be seen through the grass on the radar screen. The use of a long pulse allows a greater average signal strength to be returned in the target echoes.

5. 5
   noun

   That which is transitory.

   The grasse withereth, the flowre fadeth; because the spirit of the Lord bloweth vpon it: surely the people is grasse.

6. 6
   noun

   Asparagus; "sparrowgrass".

   'Have ready a hundred of ſmall graſs boiled, then ſave tops enough to ſtick the rolls with, the reſt cut ſmall and put into the cream, fill the loaves with them.'

7. 7
   verb

   To lay out on the grass; to knock down (an opponent etc.).

   The Chicken himself attributed this punishment to his having had the misfortune to get into Chancery early in the proceedings, when he was severely fibbed by the Larkey one, and heavily grassed.

8. 8
   verb

   To act as a grass or informer, to betray; to report on (criminals etc) to the authorities.

   "Grassed on me he did," I said morosely. (Note: Grass is English thief slang for inform.)^([sic])

Etymology

From Middle English gras, from Old English græs, from Proto-West Germanic *gras, from Proto-Germanic *grasą (“grass”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- (“to grow”). Cognates Cognate with Scots gress (“grass”), North Frisian gaars, geers, Gērs, gjars, gjas, gäärs (“grass”), Saterland Frisian Gäärs (“grass”), West Frisian gers (“grass”), Cimbrian gras, grass (“grass”), German and Luxembourgish Gras (“grass, weed”), Dutch gras (“grass, turf, pasture”), Mòcheno and Vilamovian gros (“grass”), West Flemish ges (“grass”), Yiddish גראָז (groz, “grass”), Danish græs (“grass”), Faroese, Icelandic, and…