herbage

English

Etymology

From Middle English herbage, from Old French erbage, from Early Medieval Latin herbāticum, from Latin herba (“grass”). By surface analysis, herb +‎ -age.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhəːbɪd͡ʒ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)ɚbɪd͡ʒ/

Noun

herbage (usually uncountable, plural herbages)

1. Herbs collectively.
2. Herbaceous plant growth, especially grass.
   • 1841, Edgar Allan Poe, A Descent into the Maelström:

     I threw myself upon my face, and clung to the scant herbage in an excess of nervous agitation.

   • 1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country, Nebraska, published 2005, page 97:

     The dank breath of herbage, sodden with rain, came to her; the mists were barely visible, hovering above the dark ravines.

3. The fleshy, often edible, parts of plants.
4. (law) The natural pasture of a land, considered as distinct from the land itself; hence, right of pasture (on another man's land).

Derived terms

• herbaged

Translations

herbs collectively

Bulgarian: трева (bg) f (treva), зеленина (bg) f (zelenina) Esperanto: herbaro Galician: herba (gl) f Georgian: ბალახი (ka) (balaxi), ბალახეულობა (balaxeuloba), მცენარეულობა (mcenareuloba) Macedonian: би́лје (bílje) Middle English: herbe

herbaceous plant growth, especially grass

Bulgarian: трева (bg) f (treva) Georgian: ბალახი (ka) (balaxi), ბალახეულობა (balaxeuloba) Latin: herba (la) f Maori: raurēkau Middle English: herbage Russian: травосто́й (ru) m (travostój)

fleshy, often edible, parts of plants

Bulgarian: паша (bg) f (paša)

right of pasture

Bulgarian: право на паша (pravo na paša) Latin: herbaticum n, herbagium n Middle English: herbage

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French erbage, from Early Medieval Latin herbāticum, from Latin herba (“grass”). By surface analysis, herbe +‎ -age.

Pronunciation

• ^{(mute h)} IPA^(key): /ɛʁ.baʒ/

Noun

herbage m (plural herbages)

1. pasture

Related terms

• herbe

Further reading

• “herbage”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• erbage, herbaige, yerbage

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French herbage, and Old French erbage, from Early Medieval Latin herbāticum; equivalent to herbe +‎ -age.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛrˈbaːd͡ʒ(ə)/, /ɛːrˈbaːd͡ʒ(ə)/

Noun

herbage (uncountable)

1. Herbage (herbaceous plants, especially grass)
2. Vegetables; garden plants.
3. The right of pasture.

Descendants

• English: herbage

References

• “herbāǧe, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.