Sudan Grass
/ˈsuː.dæn ɡræs/noun
A tall annual grass, usually Sorghum × drummondii, cultivated mainly as forage.
Did you know?“Sudan” comes from Arabic Bilād as-Sūdān, literally “lands of the black people,” while the grass itself is a sorghum hybrid rather than a native true grass species from one location.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*šwd
“A reconstructed root associated with blackness or dark color”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
Bilād as-Sūdān
““Lands of the blacks,” a geographic term for regions south of the Sahara”
17th–19th Century
English
Sudan
“The name adopted in English for the African region derived from Arabic as-Sūdān”
Old English
Old English
græs
“Grass, green herbage, or vegetation eaten by animals”
1909
Botanical Latin
Sorghum sudanense
“The scientific name applied to the Sudan grass plant”
20th Century
English
Sudan grass
“A cultivated forage grass developed from sorghum and associated with Sudanese plant material”