Barnyard grass, for hay. South. Panicum Grus-galli. Bent,
pasture and hay. Agrostis, several species. Bermuda grass,
pasture. South. Cynodon Dactylon. Black bent. Same as Switch
grass (below). Blue bent, hay. North and West. Andropogon
provincialis. Blue grass, pasture. Poa compressa. Blue joint,
hay. Northwest. Aqropyrum glaucum. Buffalo grass, grazing.
Rocky Mts., etc.
(a) Buchlo["e] dectyloides.
(b) Same as Grama grass (below). Bunch grass, grazing.
Far West. Eriocoma, Festuca, Stips, etc. Chess,
or Cheat, a weed. Bromus secalinus, etc. Couch
grass. Same as Quick grass (below). Crab grass,
(a) Hay, in South. A weed, in North. Panicum sanguinale.
(b) Pasture and hay. South. Eleusine Indica. Darnel
(a) Bearded, a noxious weed. Lolium temulentum.
(b) Common. Same as Rye grass (below). Drop seed, fair
for forage and hay. Muhlenbergia, several species.
English grass. Same as Redtop (below). Fowl meadow
grass.
(a) Pasture and hay. Poa serotina.
(b) Hay, on moist land. Gryceria nervata. Gama grass,
cut fodder. South. Tripsacum dactyloides. Grama
grass, grazing. West and Pacific slope. Bouteloua
oligostachya, etc. Great bunch grass, pasture and
hay. Far West. Festuca scabrella. Guinea grass, hay.
South. Panicum jumentorum. Herd's grass, in New
England Timothy, in Pennsylvania and South Redtop.
Indian grass. Same as Wood grass (below). Italian
rye grass, forage and hay. Lolium Italicum. Johnson
grass, grazing and hay. South and Southwest. Sorghum
Halepense. Kentucky blue grass, pasture. Poa
pratensis. Lyme grass, coarse hay. South. Elymus,
several species. Manna grass, pasture and hay.
Glyceria, several species. Meadow fescue, pasture
and hay. Festuca elatior. Meadow foxtail, pasture,
hay, lawn. North. Alopecurus pratensis. Meadow
grass, pasture, hay, lawn. Poa, several species.
Mesquite grass, or Muskit grass. Same as Grama grass
(above). Nimble Will, a kind of drop seed.
Muhlenbergia diffsa. Orchard grass, pasture and hay.
Dactylis glomerata. Porcupine grass, troublesome to
sheep. Northwest. Stipa spartea. Quaking grass,
ornamental. Briza media and maxima. Quitch, or
Quick, grass, etc., a weed. Agropyrum repens. Ray
grass. Same as Rye grass (below). Redtop, pasture
and hay. Agrostis vulgaris. Red-topped buffalo
grass, forage. Northwest. Poa tenuifolia. Reed
canary grass, of slight value. Phalaris arundinacea.
Reed meadow grass, hay. North. Glyceria aquatica.
Ribbon grass, a striped leaved form of Reed canary
grass. Rye grass, pasture, hay. Lolium perenne,
var. Seneca grass, fragrant basket work, etc. North.
Hierochloa borealis. Sesame grass. Same as Gama
grass (above). Sheep's fescue, sheep pasture, native
in Northern Europe and Asia. Festuca ovina. Small
reed grass, meadow pasture and hay. North. Deyeuxia
Canadensis. Spear grass, Same as Meadow grass
(above). Squirrel-tail grass, troublesome to animals.
Seacoast and Northwest. Hordeum jubatum. Switch
grass, hay, cut young. Panicum virgatum. Timothy,
cut young, the best of hay. North. Phleum pratense.
Velvet grass, hay on poor soil. South. Holcus
lanatus. Vernal grass, pasture, hay, lawn.
Anthoxanthum odoratum. Wire grass, valuable in
pastures. Poa compressa. Wood grass, Indian grass,
hay. Chrysopogon nutans.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Many plants are popularly called grasses which are not
true grasses botanically considered, such as black
grass, goose grass, star grass, etc.
[1913 Webster]
Black grass, a kind of small rush (Juncus Gerardi),
growing in salt marshes, used for making salt hay.
Grass of the Andes, an oat grass, the Arrhenatherum
avenaceum of Europe.
Grass of Parnassus, a plant of the genus Parnassia
growing in wet ground. The European species is Parnassia
palustris; in the United States there are several
species.
Grass bass (Zool.), the calico bass.
Grass bird, the dunlin.
Grass cloth, a cloth woven from the tough fibers of the
grass-cloth plant.
Grass-cloth plant, a perennial herb of the Nettle family
(B[oe]hmeria nivea syn. Urtica nivea), which grows in
Sumatra, China, and Assam, whose inner bark has fine and
strong fibers suited for textile purposes.
Grass finch. (Zool.)
(a) A common American sparrow (Po["o]c[ae]tes
gramineus); -- called also vesper sparrow and
bay-winged bunting.
(b) Any Australian finch, of the genus Po["e]phila, of
which several species are known.
Grass lamb, a lamb suckled by a dam running on pasture land
and giving rich milk.
Grass land, land kept in grass and not tilled.
Grass moth (Zool.), one of many small moths of the genus
Crambus, found in grass.
Grass oil, a fragrant essential volatile oil, obtained in
India from grasses of the genus Andropogon, etc.; --
used in perfumery under the name of citronella, ginger
grass oil, lemon grass oil, essence of verbena etc.
Grass owl (Zool.), a South African owl (Strix Capensis).
Grass parrakeet (Zool.), any of several species of
Australian parrots, of the genus Euphemia; -- also
applied to the zebra parrakeet.
Grass plover (Zool.), the upland or field plover.
Grass poly (Bot.), a species of willowwort (Lythrum
Hyssopifolia). --Johnson.
Crass quit (Zool.), one of several tropical American
finches of the genus Euetheia. The males have most of
the head and chest black and often marked with yellow.
Grass snake. (Zool.)
(a) The common English, or ringed, snake (Tropidonotus
natrix).
(b) The common green snake of the Northern United States.
See Green snake, under Green.
Grass snipe (Zool.), the pectoral sandpiper (Tringa
maculata); -- called also jacksnipe in America.
Grass spider (Zool.), a common spider (Agelena n[ae]via),
which spins flat webs on grass, conspicuous when covered
with dew.
Grass sponge (Zool.), an inferior kind of commercial sponge
from Florida and the Bahamas.
Grass table. (Arch.) See Earth table, under Earth.
Grass vetch (Bot.), a vetch (Lathyrus Nissolia), with
narrow grasslike leaves.
Grass widow. [Cf. Prov. R. an unmarried mother, G.
strohwittwe a mock widow, Sw. gr[aum]senka a grass widow.]
(a) An unmarried woman who is a mother. [Obs.]
(b) A woman separated from her husband by abandonment or
prolonged absence; a woman living apart from her
husband. [Slang.]
Grass wrack (Bot.) eelgrass.
To bring to grass (Mining.), to raise, as ore, to the
surface of the ground.
To put to grass, To put out to grass, to put out to graze
a season, as cattle.
[1913 Webster]
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Wire \Wire\ (w[imac]r), n. [OE. wir, AS. wir; akin to Icel.
v[imac]rr, Dan. vire, LG. wir, wire; cf. OHG. wiara fine
gold; perhaps akin to E. withy. [root]141.]
[1913 Webster]
1. A thread or slender rod of metal; a metallic substance
formed to an even thread by being passed between grooved
rollers, or drawn through holes in a plate of steel.
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Note: Wire is made of any desired form, as round, square,
triangular, etc., by giving this shape to the hole in
the drawplate, or between the rollers.
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2. A telegraph wire or cable; hence, an electric telegraph;
as, to send a message by wire. [Colloq.]
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3. Chiefly in pl. The system of wires used to operate the
puppets in a puppet show; hence (Chiefly Political Slang),
the network of hidden influences controlling the action of
a person or organization; as, to pull the wires for
office; -- in this sense, synonymous with strings.
[Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]
4. One who picks women's pockets. [Thieves' Slang]
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
5. A knitting needle. [Scot.]
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
6. A wire stretching across over a race track at the judges'
stand, to mark the line at which the races end. [Racing
Cant]
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Wire bed, Wire mattress, an elastic bed bottom or
mattress made of wires interwoven or looped together in
various ways.
Wire bridge, a bridge suspended from wires, or cables made
of wire.
Wire cartridge, a shot cartridge having the shot inclosed
in a wire cage.
Wire cloth, a coarse cloth made of woven metallic wire, --
used for strainers, and for various other purposes.
Wire edge, the thin, wirelike thread of metal sometimes
formed on the edge of a tool by the stone in sharpening
it.
Wire fence, a fence consisting of posts with strained
horizontal wires, wire netting, or other wirework,
between.
Wire gauge or Wire gage.
(a) A gauge for measuring the diameter of wire, thickness
of sheet metal, etc., often consisting of a metal
plate with a series of notches of various widths in
its edge.
(b) A standard series of sizes arbitrarily indicated, as
by numbers, to which the diameter of wire or the
thickness of sheet metal in usually made, and which is
used in describing the size or thickness. There are
many different standards for wire gauges, as in
different countries, or for different kinds of metal,
the Birmingham wire gauges and the American wire gauge
being often used and designated by the abbreviations
B. W. G. and A. W. G. respectively.
Wire gauze, a texture of finely interwoven wire, resembling
gauze.
Wire grass (Bot.), either of the two common grasses
Eleusine Indica, valuable for hay and pasture, and Poa
compressa, or blue grass. See Blue grass.
Wire grub (Zool.), a wireworm.
Wire iron, wire rods of iron.
Wire lathing, wire cloth or wire netting applied in the
place of wooden lathing for holding plastering.
Wire mattress. See Wire bed, above.
Wire micrometer, a micrometer having spider lines, or fine
wires, across the field of the instrument.
Wire nail, a nail formed of a piece of wire which is headed
and pointed.
Wire netting, a texture of woven wire coarser than ordinary
wire gauze.
Wire rod, a metal rod from which wire is formed by drawing.
Wire rope, a rope formed wholly, or in great part, of
wires.
down to the wire, up to the last moment, as in a race or
competition; as, the two front runners were neck-and-neck
down to the wire. From wire[6].
under the wire, just in time; shortly before the deadline;
as, to file an application just under the wire.
[1913 Webster]
[1913 Webster]
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Yard \Yard\, n. [OE. yard, yerd, AS. geard; akin to OFries.
garda garden, OS. gardo garden, gard yard, D. gaard garden,
G. garten, OHG. garto garden, gari inclosure, Icel. gar[eth]r
yard, house, Sw. g[*a]rd, Dan. gaard, Goth. gards a house,
garda sheepfold, L. hortus garden, Gr. cho`rtos an inclosure.
Cf. Court, Garden, Garth, Horticulture, Orchard.]
[1913 Webster]
1. An inclosure; usually, a small inclosed place in front of,
or around, a house or barn; as, a courtyard; a cowyard; a
barnyard.
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A yard . . . inclosed all about with sticks
In which she had a cock, hight chanticleer.
--Chaucer.
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2. An inclosure within which any work or business is carried
on; as, a dockyard; a shipyard.
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Liberty of the yard, a liberty, granted to persons
imprisoned for debt, of walking in the yard, or within any
other limits prescribed by law, on their giving bond not
to go beyond those limits.
Prison yard, an inclosure about a prison, or attached to
it.
Yard grass (Bot.), a low-growing grass (Eleusine Indica)
having digitate spikes. It is common in dooryards, and
like places, especially in the Southern United States.
Called also crab grass.
Yard of land. See Yardland.
[1913 Webster]
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Crab \Crab\ (kr[a^]b), n. [AS. crabba; akin to D. krab, G.
krabbe, krebs, Icel. krabbi, Sw. krabba, Dan. krabbe, and
perh. to E. cramp. Cf. Crawfish.]
1. (Zool.) One of the brachyuran Crustacea. They are mostly
marine, and usually have a broad, short body, covered with
a strong shell or carapace. The abdomen is small and
curled up beneath the body.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The name is applied to all the Brachyura, and to
certain Anomura, as the hermit crabs. Formerly, it was
sometimes applied to Crustacea in general. Many species
are edible, the blue crab of the Atlantic coast being
one of the most esteemed. The large European edible
crab is Cancer padurus. Soft-shelled crabs are blue
crabs that have recently cast their shells. See
Cancer; also, Box crab, Fiddler crab, Hermit
crab, Spider crab, etc., under Box, Fiddler.
etc.
[1913 Webster]
2. The zodiacal constellation Cancer.
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3. [See Crab, a.] (Bot.) A crab apple; -- so named from its
harsh taste.
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When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,
Then nightly sings the staring owl. --Shak.
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4. A cudgel made of the wood of the crab tree; a crabstick.
[Obs.] --Garrick.
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5. (Mech.)
(a) A movable winch or windlass with powerful gearing,
used with derricks, etc.
(b) A form of windlass, or geared capstan, for hauling
ships into dock, etc.
(c) A machine used in ropewalks to stretch the yarn.
(d) A claw for anchoring a portable machine.
[1913 Webster]
Calling crab. (Zool.) See Fiddler., n., 2.
Crab apple, a small, sour apple, of several kinds; also,
the tree which bears it; as, the European crab apple
(Pyrus Malus var. sylvestris); the Siberian crab apple
(Pyrus baccata); and the American (Pyrus coronaria).
Crab grass. (Bot.)
(a) A grass (Digitaria sanguinalis syn. Panicum
sanguinalis); -- called also finger grass.
(b) A grass of the genus Eleusine (Eleusine Indica);
-- called also dog's-tail grass, wire grass, etc.
Crab louse (Zool.), a species of louse (Phthirius pubis),
sometimes infesting the human body.
Crab plover (Zool.), an Asiatic plover (Dromas ardeola).
Crab's eyes, or Crab's stones, masses of calcareous
matter found, at certain seasons of the year, on either
side of the stomach of the European crawfishes, and
formerly used in medicine for absorbent and antacid
purposes; the gastroliths.
Crab spider (Zool.), one of a group of spiders
(Laterigrad[ae]); -- called because they can run
backwards or sideways like a crab.
Crab tree, the tree that bears crab applies.
Crab wood, a light cabinet wood obtained in Guiana, which
takes a high polish. --McElrath.
To catch a crab (Naut.), a phrase used of a rower:
(a) when he fails to raise his oar clear of the water;
(b) when he misses the water altogether in making a
stroke.
[1913 Webster]
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