different between ryegrass vs darnel

English

Etymology

rye +? grass

Noun

ryegrass (countable and uncountable, plural ryegrasses)

1. (countable) Any of several species of tufted grasses of the genus Lolium.

   Perennial ryegrass is an important species for lawn seed mixes.

2. (uncountable) A collection of plants of any of the species, as in a lawn or field.

   We seeded the meadow with ryegrass to provide better forage.

Descendants

• ? Catalan: raigràs
• ? Spanish: raigrás

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle English darnel, dernel, from Old Northern French darnelle ( > dialectal French dernelle, darnette), of Germanic origin, possibly Proto-West Germanic *darjan (“to harm, injure”).

Related to Walloon darne, derne (“stunned, dazed, drunk”), Middle Dutch verdarnt, verdaernt (“stunned, dumbfounded, angry”). The association with being dazed or drunkenness is due to the well-known intoxicating effects of the plant.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?d??n??/

Noun

darnel (usually uncountable, plural darnels)

1. A species of ryegrass, Lolium temulentum, often found in wheat fields and often host to a fungus intoxicating to humans and animals.
2. Various species of Lolium, especially as a weed in wheat fields.

Synonyms

• (Lolium temulentum): poison darnel

Hyponyms

• (various species of ryegrass): Persian darnel, white darnel, red darnel

Translations

Further reading

• Lolium temulentum on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Lolium temulentum on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Lolium temulentum on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• darnel at USDA Plants database (L. temulentum)
• darnel at USDA Plants database (L. persicum)

References

• “darnel”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, ?ISBN

See also

• Darnell

Anagrams

• Ladner, Lander, Larned, Lenard, Nadler, Randel, Randle, aldern, enlard, lander, larned, learn'd, learnd, reland