Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Fescue \Fes"cue\ (f[e^]s"k[-u]), n. [OE. festu, OF. festu, F.
f['e]tu, fr. L. festuca stalk, straw.]
1. A straw, wire, stick, etc., used chiefly to point out
letters to children when learning to read. ``Pedantic
fescue.'' --Sterne.
To come under the fescue of an imprimatur. --Milton.
2. An instrument for playing on the harp; a plectrum. [Obs.]
--Chapman.
3. The style of a dial. [Obs.]
4. (Bot.) A grass of the genus {Festuca}.
{Fescue grass} (Bot.), a genus of grasses ({Festuca})
containing several species of importance in agriculture.
{Festuca ovina} is {sheep's fescue}; {F. elatior} is
{meadow fescue}.
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}.
Note: Many plants are popularly called grasses which are not
true grasses botanically considered, such as black
grass, goose grass, star grass, etc.
{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 {P.
palustris}; in the United States there are several
species.
{Grass bass} (Zo["o]l.), 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 or Urtica nivea}), which grows in
Sumatra, China, and Assam, whose inner bark has fine and
strong fibers suited for textile purposes.
{Grass finch}. (Zo["o]l.)
(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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), a South African owl ({Strix
Capensis}).
{Grass parrakeet} (Zo["o]l.), any of several species of
Australian parrots, of the genus {Euphemia}; -- also
applied to the zebra parrakeet.
{Grass plover} (Zo["o]l.), the upland or field plover.
{Grass poly} (Bot.), a species of willowwort ({Lythrum
Hyssopifolia}). --Johnson.
{Crass quit} (Zo["o]l.), 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}. (Zo["o]l.)
(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} (Zo["o]l.), the pectoral sandpiper ({Tringa
maculata}); -- called also {jacksnipe} in America.
{Grass spider} (Zo["o]l.), a common spider ({Agelena
n[ae]via}), which spins flat webs on grass, conspicuous
when covered with dew.
{Grass sponge} (Zo["o]l.), 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["a]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.
Source : WordNet®
Festuca ovina
n : cultivated for sheep pasturage in upland regions or used as
a lawn grass [syn: {sheep fescue}, {sheep's fescue}]