gramineous

gra•min•e•ous (gruh-MIN-ee-uhs)  adj

Definition:
1. of, relating to, or characteristic of grasses
2. of or belonging to the grass family (Gramineae)
gramineousness noun; graminaceous adjective

Origin:
1650s, from L. gramineus  "of grass, grassy," from gramen "grass"

Related:
Synonyms: grassy
Related Words: graminivorous: grass eater

Sentence Examples:
• Sugar itself does not exist in gramineous substances; they only contain its elements, or first principles, which produce it. - The Art of Making Whiskey, Anthony Boucherie

• In this connection the action of plant-roots in permitting a more abundant access of air to the lower layers of the soil, and thus promoting nitrification, is worth noticing. This has been observed in the case of different crops. Thus the action of nitrification has been found to be more marked in the lower layers of a soil on which a leguminous crop was growing than on that on which a gramineous. - Manures and the principles of manuring, Charles Morton Aikman

• The demands for porterage were so exorbitant next morning, that we set out on foot under the guidance of Tom Peter. We passed southwards over large tracts of bush and gramineous plants, with patches of small plantations, manioc and thur; and settlements girt by calabash-trees, cocoas, palmyra and oil palms. - Two Trips to Gorilla Land and the Cataracts of the Congo, Richard F. Burton

Sources: Free Dictionary, Online Etymology

Word-E: A Word-A-Day

weald

(weeld)  n

Definition:
wooded or uncultivated country; woodland


The Weald:
a region of SE England, in Kent, Surrey, and East and West Sussex between the North Downs and the South Downs: formerly forested


Origin:
before 1150; Middle English weeld, O.E. (W.Saxon) weald "forest, woodland," specifically the forest between the North and South Downs in Sussex, Kent, and Surrey; a W.Saxon variant of Anglian wald; perhaps connected to wild

Related:
Synonyms: woodland

Sentence Examples:
• How different is the pursuit of the pheasant with the aid of spaniels in the thick covers of the weald, or tracking him with a single setter among some of the wilder portions of the forest range!—intently observing your dog and anticipating the wily artifices of some old cock, with spurs as long as a dragon's, who will sometimes lead you for a mile through bog, brake, fern, and heather, before the sudden drop of your staunch companion, and a rigidity in all his limbs, satisfy you that you have at last compelled the bird to squat under that wide holly-bush, from whence you kick him up, and feel some little exultation as you bring him down with a snap-shot, having only caught a glimpse of him through the evergreen boughs, as he endeavoured to escape by a rapid flight at the opposite side of the tree. - Highways & Byways in Sussex, E.V. Lucas

• One's gaze looked forth from it upon the endless middle distances of the oak-clad Weald, with the uncertain blue line of the South Downs in the background. Ridge behind ridge, the long, low hills of paludina limestone stood out in successive tiers, each thrown up against its neighbor by the misty haze that broods eternally over the wooded valley; till, roaming across them all, the eye rested at last on the rearing scarp of Chanctonbury Ring, faintly pencilled on the furthest skyline. - The Woman Who Did, Grant Allen

• Wide-branched oaks were intermingled with beeches and copsewood of various descriptions so closely in some places as to intercept the sunshine. In others the trees receded from each other, forming wide vistas that gave glimpses of other recesses of sylvan solitude. Down the long sunlit glades the gold belted bees sounded their humming horns through every flowery town of the weald. - In Doublet and Hose, Lucy Foster Madison

Sources: Dictionary.com, Free Dictionary, Online Etymology

Word-E: A Word-A-Day

nemoral

ne•mor•al   (nem-er-uhl) /nɛmərəl/   adj

Definition
of or pertaining to groves or woodland

Related
Synonyms: arboraceous, forested, sylvan, timbered, tree-covered, tree-laden, treed, woody, wooded
Related Words: nemorous, full of trees; nemorivagant, wandering in a wood or forest; nemorose, growing in groves or woodland; nemophilous, fond of forests or woods, nemoricolous, nemoricoline, living in forests or groves

Examples
• Wildfires are rare events in the nemoral forest zone because litter decomposition is relatively fast and there is no large accumulation of flammable material.
• Of course, these men are exceptionally skillful craftsmen, the highest product of nemoral science and nemoral instinct combined ; and it may be urged that it is obviously unfair to compare them with the average man of another calling.

The Storyline
He stood before her slack-jawed and frozen, like some nemoral creature transfixed by oncoming headlights.

Origin
from French némoral or Latin nemoralis, from nemus "grove"

Sources: Wiktionary, AllWords.com

Why This Word:
Into the woods. Somewhere along the way most of our culture became estranged from the woods and the complex relationship humans have had with woodlands in the temperate zones for centuries. And with that went our vocabulary about the woods and our understanding. We clear cut trees, move into treeless subdivisions and navigate a barren landscape without the faintest twinge of loss or longing. But to the woods we are tied and always shall be. So into the words for woods we must go.

Word-E: A Word-A-Day