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spinifex
[ spahy-nuh-feks ]
noun
, plural spi·ni·fex, spi·ni·fex·es.
- any of several Australian grasses of the genera Spinifex, Plectrachne, or Triodia, having spiny seeds and stiff, sharp-pointed leaves that grow in dense masses.
spinifex
/ ˈspɪnɪˌfɛks /
noun
- Also calledporcupine grass any of various coarse spiny-leaved inland grasses of the genus Triodia
- any grass of the SE Asian genus Spinifex, having pointed leaves and spiny seed heads: often planted to bind loose sand
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Word History and Origins
Origin of spinifex1
First recorded in 1845–55; from New Latin spīnifex, literally “spine maker,” equivalent to Latin spīn(a) “thorn, spine, backbone” + -i- ( def ) + -fex ( def )
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Word History and Origins
Origin of spinifex1
C19: from New Latin, from Latin spīna a thorn + -fex maker, from facere to make
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Example Sentences
Up jumped Nquing from his burrow in the spinifex and shouted, "Go away!"
From Project Gutenberg
As we ascended it we passed many isolated hills of perhaps a few hundred feet, and nowhere did I see any scrub or spinifex.
From Project Gutenberg
Often the wells were quite dry and food painfully scarce; this would be in a region of sand and spinifex.
From Project Gutenberg
Spinifex and sand resumed their predominance as the travellers left the lake behind them.
From Project Gutenberg
The spinifex that grew in the interstices of the rocks was also no inconsiderable hindrance to our movements.
From Project Gutenberg
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