fescue

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Related to fescue: fescue grass, tall fescue, sheep fescue

fes·cue

(fĕs′kyo͞o)

1. Any of various perennial grasses of the genus Festuca, often cultivated as pasturage.

2. Any of several annual grasses of the genus Vulpia of dry habitats.

[Short for fescue grass (so called from its being grown for hay and straw), from Early Modern English fescue, straw, piece of straw, alteration of Middle English festu, straw, from Old French, from Late Latin festūcum, from Latin festūca; perhaps akin to ferula, giant fennel (which has hollow stems), and fistula, hollow stalk, pipe.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fescue

(ˈfɛskjuː) or

fescue grass

(Plants) any grass of the genus Festuca: widely cultivated as pasture and lawn grasses, having stiff narrow leaves. See also meadow fescue, sheep's fescue

[C14: from Old French festu, ultimately from Latin festūca stem, straw]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fes•cue

(ˈfɛs kyu)

n.

1. any grass of the genus Festuca, some species of which are cultivated for pasture or lawns.

2. a pointer used to point out the letters in teaching children to read.

[1350–1400; Middle English festu < Middle French « Latin]

fescue

- A pointer, such as that used by a teacher, having originally meant "a straw or twig."

See also related terms for teacher.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

fescue - grass with wide flat leaves cultivated in Europe and America for permanent pasture and hay and for lawns

fescue grass, Festuca elatior, meadow fescue

grass - narrow-leaved green herbage: grown as lawns; used as pasture for grazing animals; cut and dried as hay

Festuca, genus Festuca - a genus of tufted perennial grasses of the family Gramineae

References in periodicals archive ?

And anyway, it's always fun asking a shop assistant if she's got creeping red fescue.

GARDENING: LAWN AND ORDER; IT'S TIME TO WORK ON THAT GRASS

Endophyte-infected fescue should not be used for grass-fed beef as it will impart an unpleasant off-flavor to the meat as well as lower the animal's gain to an unacceptable level Today, however, endophyte-free varieties of fescue are available, as well as "novel endophyte" varieties that contain "good" endophytes for increased insect resistance--not the bad ones that cause the ill effects.

Watch out for Fescue fungus

Detection of endophyte in tall fescue and perennial ryegrass by different methods.

A sensitive PCR-based assay to detect Neotyphodium fungi in seed and plant tissue of tall fescue and ryegrass species

Mixture A Fine-Textured Grasses 12.76 percent red fescue 85 percent germ.

Chapter 21 Selecting the proper grass

We seeded the areas adjacent to the stream with tall fescue. By mid-April the fescue had germinated and was about an inch high.

Ripples in the stream

11, a 544-yard par 5 featuring a cluster of bunkers at the corner of a dogleg, their fringes lined with wispy fescue. Big hitters can take an aggressive line, setting up a reachable second shot to a docile green.

Course of history: at the Architects Club, a lesson in design awaits around every bend

Tall fescue is a [C.sub.3] grass, producing up to 50% of its biomass during the months of April and May (Buckner, 1985) in the southeastern climate of the United States.

Forage species and canopy cover effects on runoff from small plots

We collected invertebrate samples from 10 NWSG fields and 10 fields of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) during the brooding season across Tennessee using a terrestrial vacuum sampler.

Invertebrate availability for upland game birds in tall fescue and native warm-season grass fields

The tall fescue research showed up to a 50 percent difference in forage preferences based on cutting time.

Choosy cows choose late-cut hay

The ability of these techniques to reduce the level of crude oil in soil was studied by growing bermudagrass (Cynodon dacylon) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) in Sacul soil (Aquic Hapludult) containing 30 g oil per kg soil (burned or left unburned).

Greenhouse study of in situ burning and phytoremediation for upland crude oil spills

Landscapers usually revegetate with a mixture of Kentucky-31 tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Sel.

Reforesting Appalachia's coal lands

Common cool-season grasses include Kentucky blue-grass, red and tall fescue, narrowleaf ryegrass and bentgrass.