Meaning and Origin
What does the name Prairie mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
Origin and Meaning of Prairie
User Submitted Origins
English
67%
French
33%
International Interest
Also see international interest
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Prai"rie
Senses
- 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." [Longfellow.]
- A meadow or tract of grass; especially, a so called natural meadow.
Etymology: F., an extensive meadow, OF. praerie, LL. prataria, fr. L. pratum a meadow
Other Dictionary Sources
- A treeless grassy plain
Wiktionary
Borrowing from French prairie.
- An extensive area of relatively flat grassland with few, if any, trees, especially in North America.
prairie was also found in the following language(s): French