spinifex
/spˈɪnɪfɛks/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.73 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of numerous species of grass in genus Spinifex, growing in sand dunes.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Any of several spiny grass species of the genus Triodia, endemic to arid outback Australia.
Australian usage; Countable; Uncountable
adj
Composed of dendritic plates, which present as the scored texture of bundled, spine-like structures typical of komatiites.
Example Sentences
- "And there will be Ethel watching, just standing there, stirring something on the kitchen stove, or dusting the mahogany sideboard, or polishing the silver, and looking out the window, staring, just staring, as though she were watching the spinifex growing, or the sky hanging there, just staring with that terrible effrontery of someone who will not deign to react."
Etymology
From translingual Spinifex (genus name), from Latin spina (“spine”) + Latin -fex (“maker”) (from Latin facere (“to make”)).
Origin
- Source language: Latin