Herbage
/ˈhɜːr.bɪdʒ/noun
Vegetation, especially grass and other plants suitable for grazing.
Did you know?Herbage entered English through Old French from a Latin word meaning both 'grass' and 'pasture,' showing how language once treated vegetation as a form of wealth and survival.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʰer-
“to be green, grow”
Latin
Latin
herba
“grass, herb, green plants”
Old French
Old French
herbage
“pasture, grass, vegetation”
Middle English
English
herbage
“grass, herbage, fodder”
Modern English
English
herbage
“vegetation, especially grass and other plants suitable for grazing”