stick-grass, noun

Origin:
Calque formed on South African Dutch steekgras.
steekgras.
1838 J.E. Alexander Exped. into Int. I. 237The Boschmans have a peculiar mode of fishing..; they make conical baskets of stick grass, which is as thick and hard as quills.
1844 J. Backhouse Narr. of Visit 540The cows could get little but a scanty supply of rigid herbage, called here Stickgrass, and which is a shrubby, gramineous plant.
[1897 ‘F. Macnab’ On Veldt & Farm 73They (sc. thorns) are very injurious to the fleeces of sheep and Angora goat, as is also a grass called ‘sticky grass’ from the small splinters which work their way into the wool.]
1916 Farmer’s Weekly 27 Dec. 1594We all know that stick grass and Merinos do not agree.
1971 Golden Fleece (S. Afr. Wool Board) June (Suppl.) 8Pioneer Stage: Aristida curvata — Stickgrass.
1975 W.J. Morris in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. XI. 382Stick-grass or steekgras (Aristida congesta) is a biennial pioneer grass.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

18381975

Browse Related Words

By Category

Grasses
stick-fight, nounn.stiff-sickness, nounn.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English