Adjacent Words

prairie definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a treeless grassy plain

Merriam Webster's

noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: French, from Old French praierie, from Vulgar Latin *prataria, from Latin pratum meadow Date: circa 1682 1. land in or predominantly in grass 2. a tract of grassland: as a. a large area of level or rolling land in the Mississippi River valley that in its natural uncultivated state usually has deep fertile soil, a cover of tall coarse grasses, and few trees b. one of the dry treeless plateaus east of the Rocky Mountains that merge on their east side with the prairies proper and are characterized by shorter grasses and drier less fertile soil

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a large area of usu. treeless grassland esp. in N. America. Phrases and idioms: prairie chicken (or hen) a N. American grouse, Tympanuchus cupido. prairie dog any N. American rodent of the genus Cynomys, living in burrows and making a barking sound. prairie oyster a seasoned raw egg, swallowed without breaking the yolk. prairie schooner US a covered wagon used by the 19th-c. pioneers in crossing the N. American prairies. prairie wolf = COYOTE. Etymology: F f. OF praerie ult. f. L pratum meadow

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prairie Prai"rie, n. [F., an extensive meadow, OF. praerie, LL. prataria, fr. L. pratum a meadow.] 1. An extensive tract of level or rolling land, destitute of trees, covered with coarse grass, and usually characterized by a deep, fertile soil. They abound throughout the Mississippi valley, between the Alleghanies and the Rocky mountains. From the forests and the prairies, From the great lakes of the northland. --Longfellow. 2. A meadow or tract of grass; especially, a so called natural meadow. Prairie chicken (Zo["o]l.), any American grouse of the genus Tympanuchus, especially T. Americanus (formerly T. cupido), which inhabits the prairies of the central United States. Applied also to the sharp-tailed grouse. Prairie clover (Bot.), any plant of the leguminous genus Petalostemon, having small rosy or white flowers in dense terminal heads or spikes. Several species occur in the prairies of the United States. Prairie dock (Bot.), a coarse composite plant (Silphium terebinthaceum) with large rough leaves and yellow flowers, found in the Western prairies. Prairie dog (Zo["o]l.), a small American rodent (Cynomys Ludovicianus) allied to the marmots. It inhabits the plains west of the Mississippi. The prairie dogs burrow in the ground in large warrens, and have a sharp bark like that of a dog. Called also prairie marmot. Prairie grouse. Same as Prairie chicken, above. Prairie hare (Zo["o]l.), a large long-eared Western hare (Lepus campestris). See Jack rabbit, under 2d Jack. Prairie hawk, Prairie falcon (Zo["o]l.), a falcon of Western North America (Falco Mexicanus). The upper parts are brown. The tail has transverse bands of white; the under parts, longitudinal streaks and spots of brown. Prairie hen. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Prairie chicken, above. Prairie itch (Med.), an affection of the skin attended with intense itching, which is observed in the Northern and Western United States; -- also called swamp itch, winter itch. Prairie marmot. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Prairie dog, above. Prairie mole (Zo["o]l.), a large American mole (Scalops argentatus), native of the Western prairies. Prairie pigeon, plover, or snipe (Zo["o]l.), the upland plover. See Plover, n., 2. Prairie rattlesnake (Zo["o]l.), the massasauga. Prairie snake (Zo["o]l.), a large harmless American snake (Masticophis flavigularis). It is pale yellow, tinged with brown above. Prairie squirrel (Zo["o]l.), any American ground squirrel of the genus Spermophilus, inhabiting prairies; -- called also gopher. Prairie turnip (Bot.), the edible turnip-shaped farinaceous root of a leguminous plant (Psoralea esculenta) of the Upper Missouri region; also, the plant itself. Called also pomme blanche, and pomme de prairie. Prairie warbler (Zo["o]l.), a bright-colored American warbler (Dendroica discolor). The back is olive yellow, with a group of reddish spots in the middle; the under parts and the parts around the eyes are bright yellow; the sides of the throat and spots along the sides, black; three outer tail feathers partly white. Prairie wolf. (Zo["o]l.) See Coyote.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gun Gun, n. [OE. gonne, gunne; of uncertain origin; cf. Ir., Gael.) A LL. gunna, W. gum; possibly (like cannon) fr. L. canna reed, tube; or abbreviated fr. OF. mangonnel, E. mangonel, a machine for hurling stones.] 1. A weapon which throws or propels a missile to a distance; any firearm or instrument for throwing projectiles by the explosion of gunpowder, consisting of a tube or barrel closed at one end, in which the projectile is placed, with an explosive charge behind, which is ignited by various means. Muskets, rifles, carbines, and fowling pieces are smaller guns, for hand use, and are called small arms. Larger guns are called cannon, ordnance, fieldpieces, carronades, howitzers, etc. See these terms in the Vocabulary. As swift as a pellet out of a gunne When fire is in the powder runne. --Chaucer. The word gun was in use in England for an engine to cast a thing from a man long before there was any gunpowder found out. --Selden. 2. (Mil.) A piece of heavy ordnance; in a restricted sense, a cannon. 3. pl. (Naut.) Violent blasts of wind. Note: Guns are classified, according to their construction or manner of loading as rifled or smoothbore, breech-loading or muzzle-loading, cast or built-up guns; or according to their use, as field, mountain, prairie, seacoast, and siege guns. Armstrong gun, a wrought iron breech-loading cannon named after its English inventor, Sir William Armstrong. Great gun, a piece of heavy ordnance; hence (Fig.), a person superior in any way. Gun barrel, the barrel or tube of a gun. Gun carriage, the carriage on which a gun is mounted or moved. Gun cotton (Chem.), a general name for a series of explosive nitric ethers of cellulose, obtained by steeping cotton in nitric and sulphuric acids. Although there are formed substances containing nitric acid radicals, yet the results exactly resemble ordinary cotton in appearance. It burns without ash, with explosion if confined, but quietly and harmlessly if free and open, and in small quantity. Specifically, the lower nitrates of cellulose which are insoluble in ether and alcohol in distinction from the highest (pyroxylin) which is soluble. See Pyroxylin, and cf. Xyloidin. The gun cottons are used for blasting and somewhat in gunnery: for making celluloid when compounded with camphor; and the soluble variety (pyroxylin) for making collodion. See Celluloid, and Collodion. Gun cotton is frequenty but improperly called nitrocellulose. It is not a nitro compound, but an ethereal salt of nitric acid. Gun deck. See under Deck. Gun fire, the time at which the morning or the evening gun is fired. Gun metal, a bronze, ordinarily composed of nine parts of copper and one of tin, used for cannon, etc. The name is also given to certain strong mixtures of cast iron. Gun port (Naut.), an opening in a ship through which a cannon's muzzle is run out for firing. Gun tackle (Naut.), the blocks and pulleys affixed to the side of a ship, by which a gun carriage is run to and from the gun port. Gun tackle purchase (Naut.), a tackle composed of two single blocks and a fall. --Totten. Krupp gun, a wrought steel breech-loading cannon, named after its German inventor, Herr Krupp. Machine gun, a breech-loading gun or a group of such guns, mounted on a carriage or other holder, and having a reservoir containing cartridges which are loaded into the gun or guns and fired in rapid succession, sometimes in volleys, by machinery operated by turning a crank. Several hundred shots can be fired in a minute with accurate aim. The Gatling gun, Gardner gun, Hotchkiss gun, and Nordenfelt gun, named for their inventors, and the French mitrailleuse, are machine guns. To blow great guns (Naut.), to blow a gale. See Gun, n., 3.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(prairies) A prairie is a large area of flat, grassy land in North America. Prairies have very few trees. N-VAR

Moby Thesaurus

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