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Webster 1913 Edition

Turf

Turf

(tûrf)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Turfs
(tûrfs)
,
Obs.
Turves
(tûrvz)
.
[AS.
turf
; akin to D.
turf
peat, G.
torf
, OHG.
zurba
turf, Sw. & Icel.
torf
turf, peat, Dan.
törv
, Skr.
darbha
a kind of grass, a tuft of grass. √242.]
1.
That upper stratum of earth and vegetable mold which is filled with the roots of grass and other small plants, so as to adhere and form a kind of mat; sward; sod.
At his head a grass-green
turf
.
Shakespeare
The Greek historian sets her in the field on a high heap of
turves
.
Milton.
2.
Peat, especially when prepared for fuel. See
Peat
.
3.
Race course; horse racing; – preceded by the.
“We . . . claim the honors of the turf.”
Cowper.
☞ Turf is often used adjectively, or to form compounds which are generally self-explaining; as, turf ashes, turf cutter or turf-cutter, turf pit or turf-pit, turf-built, turf-clad, turf-covered, etc.
Turf ant
(Zool.)
,
a small European ant (
Formica flava
) which makes small ant-hills on heaths and commons.
–
Turf drain
,
a drain made with turf or peat.
–
Turf hedge
,
a hedge or fence formed with turf and plants of different kinds.
–
Turf house
,
a house or shed formed of turf, common in the northern parts of Europe.
–
Turf moss
a tract of turfy, mossy, or boggy land.
–
Turf spade
,
a spade for cutting and digging turf, longer and narrower than the common spade.

Turf

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Turfed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Turfing
.]
To cover with turf or sod;
as, to
turf
a bank, or the border of a terrace
.
A. Tucker.

Webster 1828 Edition

Turf

TURF

, n.
1.
That upper stratum of earth and vegetable mold, which is filled with the roots of grass and other small plants, so as to adhere and form a kind of mat. This is otherwise called sward and sod.
2.
Peat; a peculiar kind of blackish, fibrous, vegetable, earthy substance, used as fuel. [Dryden and Addison wrote turfs, in the plural. But when turf or peat is cut into small pieces, the practice now is to call them turves.]
3.
Race-ground; or horse-racing.
The honors of the turf are all our own.

TURF

,
Verb.
T.
To cover with turf or sod; as, to turf a bank or the border of a terrace.

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