Prairie /(?)/
Prai·rie
Prairie
n.
-
An extensive tract of level or rolling land, destitute of trees, covered with coarse grass, and usually characterized by a deep, fertile soil. They abound throughout the Mississippi valley, between the Alleghanies and the Rocky mountains.
From the forests and the prairies, From the great lakes of the northland.
- A meadow or tract of grass; especially, a so called natural meadow.
Phrases & Compounds
- Prairie chicken
- any American grouse of the genus Tympanuchus, especially Tympanuchus Americanus (formerly Tympanuchus cupido), which inhabits the prairies of the central United States. Applied also to the sharp-tailed grouse.
- Prairie clover
- any plant of the leguminous genus Petalostemon, having small rosy or white flowers in dense terminal heads or spikes. Several species occur in the prairies of the United States.
- Prairie dock
- a coarse composite plant (Silphium terebinthaceum) with large rough leaves and yellow flowers, found in the Western prairies.
- Prairie dog
- a small American rodent (Cynomys Ludovicianus) allied to the marmots. It inhabits the plains west of the Mississippi. The prairie dogs burrow in the ground in large warrens, and have a sharp bark like that of a dog. Called also prairie marmot.
- Prairie grouse
- Same as Prairie chicken, above.
- Prairie hare
- a large long-eared Western hare (Lepus campestris). See Jack rabbit, under 2d Jack.
- Prairie hawk
- a falcon of Western North America (Falco Mexicanus). The upper parts are brown. The tail has transverse bands of white; the under parts, longitudinal streaks and spots of brown.
- Prairie hen
- Same as Prairie chicken, above.
- Prairie itch
- an affection of the skin attended with intense itching, which is observed in the Northern and Western United States; -- also called swamp itch, winter itch.
- Prairie marmot
- Same as Prairie dog, above.
- Prairie mole
- a large American mole (Scalops argentatus), native of the Western prairies.
- Prairie pigeon
- the upland plover. See Plover, n., 2.
- Prairie rattlesnake
- the massasauga.
- Prairie snake
- a large harmless American snake (Masticophis flavigularis). It is pale yellow, tinged with brown above.
- Prairie squirrel
- any American ground squirrel of the genus Spermophilus, inhabiting prairies; -- called also gopher.
- Prairie turnip
- the edible turnip-shaped farinaceous root of a leguminous plant (Psoralea esculenta) of the Upper Missouri region; also, the plant itself. Called also pomme blanche, and pomme de prairie.
- Prairie warbler
- a bright-colored American warbler (Dendroica discolor). The back is olive yellow, with a group of reddish spots in the middle; the under parts and the parts around the eyes are bright yellow; the sides of the throat and spots along the sides, black; three outer tail feathers partly white.
- Prairie wolf
- See Coyote.