prairie
[ prair-ee ]
/ ˈprɛər i /
noun
an extensive, level or slightly undulating, mostly treeless tract of land in the Mississippi valley, characterized by a highly fertile soil and originally covered with coarse grasses, and merging into drier plateaus in the west.
Compare pampas, savanna, steppe.
a tract of grassland; meadow.
(in Florida) a low, sandy tract of grassland often covered with water.
Southern U.S.
wet grassland; marsh.
(initial capital letter)
a steam locomotive having a two-wheeled front truck, six driving wheels, and a two-wheeled rear truck.
Origin of prairie
1675–85; < French: meadow < Vulgar Latin
*prātāria, equivalent to Latin
prāt(um) meadow +
-āria, feminine of
-ārius
-ary
OTHER WORDS FROM prairie
prai·rie·like, adjectiveWords nearby prairie
Definition for prairie (2 of 2)
Prairie, The
noun
a historical novel (1827) by James Fenimore Cooper.
Compare
Leather-Stocking Tales.
Example sentences from the Web for prairie
British Dictionary definitions for prairie
prairie
/ (ˈprɛərɪ) /
noun
Word Origin for prairie
C18: from French, from Old French
praierie, from Latin
prātum meadow
Scientific definitions for prairie
prairie
[ prâr′ē ]
An extensive area of flat or rolling grassland, especially the large plain of central North America.