Lucerne
/luːˈsɜːn/noun
A flowering plant of the pea family, also called alfalfa, grown as fodder and for improving soil.
Did you know?Lucerne is the same plant as alfalfa, and its English name came through French from the Swiss city of Lucerne, not from a Latin word for light despite the tempting sound.
Etymological Timeline
Middle English
English
lucerne
“a fodder plant”
Old French
OF
luserne
“the plant lucerne or alfalfa”
Late Latin
Latin
lucerna
“lamp, lantern”
Roman era
Latin
Lucerna
“the Swiss city name later associated with the plant”
Modern English
English
lucerne
“alfalfa, a cultivated forage plant”