daba grass, noun phrase

/ˈdaba ɡrɑːs/
Forms:
Also dobbo grass, dobo grass.
Origin:
IsiXhosa, EnglishShow more IsiXhosa idobo any very coarse long grass + English grass.
The coarse grass Miscanthus capensis of the Poaceae (sub-family Panicoideae), often used for thatching.
1904 E. London Dispatch 23 Aug. 6What about those brave fellows who fell at Gwadana and..Fort Bowker? They have lain there for the last quarter of a century, friendless and uncared for, with the rank daba grass flourishing over them.
1912 E. London Dispatch 18 Oct. 6 (Pettman)There doubtless rang out the familiar call that brought the family once more together to sleep, perhaps, amongst the rustling dobbo grass.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 135Daba grass,..In the native territories the tough, flag-like grass used by the natives as thatch for their huts is so called.
1966 C.A. Smith Common Names 196Dabagras (-grass), Miscanthidium capense...The name has been derived by phonetic abrasion from the original Xhosa ‘i-dobo,’ a general name for coarse tall-growing grasses..used by the Bantu in the eastern territories for thatching their ‘indaba’ huts.
1980 Daily Dispatch 12 Sept. 10I have a lot of ‘dobo’ (reed) grass on the farm.
1983 Daily Dispatch 10 June 14Large areas of dobbo grass have remained untouched.
1991 G.E. Gibbs Russell et al. Grasses of Sn Afr. 221Miscanthus capensis..dabagrass...All three broad-leaved species formerly recognized in Miscanthidium,..are combined here because of great variability in the characters upon which separation has been attempted.
The coarse grass Miscanthus capensis of the Poaceae (sub-family Panicoideae), often used for thatching.
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cut-throat lark, noun phrasen. phr.dabbies, verb transitivev.
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