turfn.¹

Brit.

/təːf/, U.S.

/tərf/

Forms: Old English– turf; also Middle English–1600s turfe, Middle English torf, Middle English (1700s–1800s dialect) turff, 1500s–1600s turffe, (Middle English turfh, 1500s turph, tourffe, torve, towrve, 1500s–1600s turue, turve, 1600s turfth, terf, turph); 1500s toure, Scottish1500s– turr, (1700s–1800s toor, ture, 1800s tour, toure, etc.). plural Old English tyrf; Middle English–1500s turues (v), (Middle English turuys, 1500s Scottish turuis), Middle English–1600s torues (v), (Middle English toruys), 1500s– turves (Scottish1500s tirvis); Middle English– turfs (1500s tyrfes, 1500s–1600s Scottish turreffis, turres, turris). β. 1500s troffe, 1600s truffe, 1600s–1800s truff; plural Scottish1500s–1600s truiffis, 1500s–1700s troves, trovis.

Etymology: Old English turf feminine consonant stem (genitive-dative singular and nominative-accusative plural tyrf ): Common Germanic (with variation of gender and declension); compare Old Frisian turf (East Frisian turf ); Old Saxon turf , (Middle Dutch torf , turf , Dutch turf ), Middle Low German, Low German torf (whence modern German torf peat); Old High German zurba , zurf ‘terra avulsa, cespes’, sod; Old Norse torf (Norwegian torv , Swedish torf , Danish tørv ) < Old Germanic *turƀ- , < Indo-European *drbh : compare Sanskrit darbhá tuft of grass, < drbh to make into tufts, string together. From the Germanic came also medieval Latin turba (compare turbary n.), French tourbe (1200), Italian torba, Spanish turba.

a. A slab pared from the surface of the soil with the grass and herbage growing on it; a sod of grass, with the roots and earth adhering. Also, in early quots., a small portion of the sward in situ.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > sod

turfc725

flagc1440

clot1460

soda1475

shirrel1513

ploud1535

peat1570

clod1594

roughhead1631

pare1651

scurf1708

flaw1811

the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > herb or herbaceous plant > [noun] > herbage or grass > tuft, sod, or sop

turfc725

sopa1642

mock1844

c725 Corpus Gloss. (O.E.T.) 452 Cespites (pl.), tyrb.

a1000 Prose Life Guthlac (1848) xv. 64 Hi þa [flaxan] gehyddon under anre tyrf.

c1000 Sax. Leechd. l. 290 Ðeos wyrt..of anre tyrf manega bogas asendeþ.

c1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 189 Þa gewrohte he [Seuerus] weall mid turfum, & bred weall ðær on ufon fram sæ to sæ.

a1250 Owl & Nightingale 1167 Hervore hit is þat me þe suneþ & þe totorueþ & tobuneþ Mid staue & stone & turf & clute.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7682 Vortigerne þe king bi-tahte heom al þis lond. þat ne bilæfde him an honde a turf [c1300 Otho torf] of londe.

c1386 G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale 991 A bench of turues [v.rr. turves, torues] fressh and grene.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16762 + 120 War-on he miȝt dee fayre, Ne a torf of herd erth.

?1482 J. Kay tr. G. Caoursin Siege of Rhodes They made certayn dyches..and couered theym with grene bowes, and afterward they putted erthe and turues vppon the same.

1551 J. Bale Actes Eng. Votaryes: 2nd Pt. f. lvij^v His owne clergye wold scarsely suffer hym to be buryed w^tout the church vndre tyrfes or soddes of the grasse.

1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Biiii^v Vpon a benche coueryd wyth grene torues we satte downe.

1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 252 There are some..that..will readily part with the great Reversion of another World for a Turf of Ground in present Possession.

1776 W. Withering Brit. Plants (1796) II. 509 In a turf containing 6 plants the roots were all distinct.

1831 On Planting (Libr. Useful Knowl.) v. 53 The coping consisted of a row of turfs laid with the grass side upwards.

1850 G. Glenny Hand-bk. Flower Garden 40 The compost in which it should be grown is, loam from rotted turves.

b. collective, as a substance or material.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > turf > [noun] > for building or constructing

turf1565

set sod1844

sodding1852

sward-earth1852

1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. i. v. f. 16 A trench and a rampaire of turue and timber, thyck fenced with bulwarkes and turrets.

1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iii. 132 A number of other places fortified with earth and turfe onely.

1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. 66 Cause Turrets, or Signals, of Stone or Turf, to be built.

1821 Ld. Byron Cain iii. i, in Sardanapalus 422 They to me are so much turf And stone.

†c. A clod of earth. Also figurative cf. clod n. 4. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > stupid person, dolt, blockhead > [noun]

asseOE

sotc1000

beastc1225

long-ear?a1300

stock1303

buzzard1377

mis-feelinga1382

dasarta1400

stonea1400

dasiberd14..

dottlec1400

doddypoll1401

dastardc1440

dotterel1440

dullardc1440

wantwit1449

jobardc1475

nollc1475

assheada1500

mulea1500

dull-pate15..

peak1509

dulbert?a1513

doddy-patec1525

noddypolla1529

hammer-head1532

dull-head?1534

capon1542

dolt1543

blockhead1549

cod's head1549

mome1550

grout-head1551

gander1553

skit-brains?1553

blocka1556

calfa1556

tomfool1565

dunce1567

druggard1569

cobble1570

dummel1570

Essex calf1573

jolthead1573

hardhead1576

beetle-head1577

dor-head1577

groutnoll1578

grosshead1580

thickskin1582

noddyship?1589

jobbernowl1592

beetle-brain1593

Dorbel1593

oatmeal-groat1594

loggerhead1595

block-pate1598

cittern-head1598

noddypoop1598

dorbellist1599

numps1599

dor1601

stump1602

ram-head1605

look-like-a-goose1606

ruff1606

clod1607

turf1607

asinego1609

clot-poll1609

doddiea1611

druggle1611

duncecomb1612

ox-head1613

clod-polla1616

dulman1615

jolterhead1620

bullhead1624

dunderwhelpa1625

dunderhead1630

macaroona1631

clod-patea1635

clota1637

dildo1638

clot-pate1640

stupid1640

clod-head1644

stub1644

simpletonian1652

bottle-head1654

Bœotiana1657

vappe1657

lackwit1668

cudden1673

plant-animal1673

dolt-head1679

cabbage head1682

put1688

a piece of wood1691

ouphe1694

dunderpate1697

numbskull1697

leather-head1699

nocky1699

Tom Cony1699

mopus1700

bluff-head1703

clod skull1707

dunny1709

dowf1722

stupe1722

gamphrel1729

gobbin?1746

duncehead1749

half-wit1755

thick-skull1755

jackass1756

woollen-head1756

numbhead1757

beef-head1775

granny1776

stupid-head1792

stunpolla1794

timber-head1794

wether heada1796

dummy1796

noghead1800

staumrel1802

muttonhead1803

num1807

dummkopf1809

tumphya1813

cod's head and shoulders1820

stoopid1823

thick-head1824

gype1825

stob1825

stookiea1828

woodenhead1831

ning-nong1832

log-head1834

fat-head1835

dunderheadism1836

turnip1837

mudhead1838

donkey1840

stupex1843

cabbage1844

morepork1845

lubber-head1847

slowpoke1847

stupiditarian1850

pudding-head1851

cod's head and shoulders1852

putty head1853

moke1855

mullet-head1855

pothead1855

mug1857

thick1857

boodle1862

meathead1863

missing link1863

half-baked1866

lunk1867

turnip-head1869

rummy1872

pumpkin-head1876

tattie1879

chump1883

dully1883

cretin1884

lunkhead1884

mopstick1886

dumbhead1887

peanut head1891

pie-face1891

doughbakea1895

butt-head1896

pinhead1896

cheesehead1900

nyamps1900

box head1902

bonehead1903

chickenhead1903

thickwit1904

cluck1906

boob1907

John1908

mooch1910

nitwit1910

dikkop1913

goop1914

goofus1916

rumdum1916

bone dome1917

moron1917

oik1917

jabroni1919

dumb-bell1920

knob1920

goon1921

dimwit1922

ivory dome1923

stone jug1923

dingleberry1924

gimp1924

bird brain1926

jughead1926

cloth-head1927

dumb1928

gazook1928

mouldwarp1928

ding-dong1929

stupido1929

mook1930

sparrow-brain1930

knobhead1931

dip1932

drip1932

epsilon1932

bohunkus1933

Nimrod1933

dumbass1934

zombie1936

pea-brain1938

knot-head1940

schlump1941

jarhead1942

Joe Soap1943

knuckle-head1944

nong1944

lame-brain1945

gobshite1946

rock-head1947

potato head1948

jerko1949

turkey1951

momo1953

poop-head1955

a right one1958

bam1959

nong-nong1959

dickhead1960

dumbo1960

Herbert1960

lamer1961

bampot1962

dipshit1963

bamstick1965

doofus1965

dick1966

pillock1967

zipperhead1967

dipstick1968

thickie1968

poephol1969

yo-yo1970

doof1971

cockhead1972

nully1973

thicko1976

wazzock1976

motorhead1979

mouth-breather1979

no-brainer1979

jerkwad1980

woodentop1981

dickwad1983

dough ball1983

dickweed1984

bawheid1985

numpty1985

jerkweed1988

dick-sucker1989

knob-end1989

Muppet1989

dingus1997

dicksack1999

eight ball-

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > clod

clouta1250

gluga1382

clotc1400

clodc1440

glebea1513

turf1607

clat1628

1607 J. Marston What you Will ii. i He is a turfe that will be slave to man.

1674 Abp. Leighton in O. Airy Lauderdale Papers. (1885) III. 76 Those pains and distempers that hang about this litle crazy turf of earth y^t I carry.

†d. A sod cut from the turf of an estate, etc., as a token or symbol of possession. Also in phrase turf and twig. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > transfer of property > putting in possession > [noun] > handing over of symbol of possession > object handed over > specific

wandc1420

turf1585

verge1607

1585 in H. Hall Society in Elizabethan Age (1886) 239 Delyvered lyke possession..by a turffe cutt there.

1613 R. Harcourt Relation Voy. Guiana 42 I tooke possession of the land, by turfe and twig.

1650 J. Trapp Clavis to Bible (Gen. xiv. 23) 123 The most High God, possessour of heaven and earth, who hath sent me with this bread and wine, as by turfe and twig, as by an earnest, and a little for the whole, to give thee possession of both.

a. collective singular. The covering of grass and other plants, with its matted roots, forming the surface of grassland; the greensward; growing grass. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > herb or herbaceous plant > [noun] > herbage or grass

grasseOE

turfc890

herbc1384

herbage1390

herberiea1400

verdure1447

summer grass1531

c890 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) v. vi. 400 Sum stan ðære eorðan gelic mid ðinre tyrf bewrigen.

a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 236/18 Feraces glebas, þa wæstmbære tyrf.

a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 240/27 Florei cespitis, blowendre tyrf.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 15 Vnder þe torf of þe lond is good marl i-founde.

a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. iv. 44 The Shepheard..Who you saw sitting by me on the Turph.

1637 J. Milton Comus 10 They left me weary on a grassie terfe.

1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 4 The first Stratum immediately under the Turff, a yellowish Clay.

1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. i. i. 3 The first few flowers and fresh turf of the reviving Spring.

1895 G. W. Smalley Stud. Men 144 Sunny glades clothed in rough turf.

b. as a substance or material.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > turf > [noun] > for lawns or sports fields

turf1601

sea-washed turf1931

1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xvii. xiv. 518 To preserve it [the graft] with turfe and mosse against the injurie of rain and cold.

1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 429 These Fabrickes are..erected in a singular Frame of Smoake-torne straw, greene long prick'd truff [1682 turff], and Raine-dropping watles.

1706 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 12 Apr. (O.H.S.) I. 223 The..Garden.. he order'd to be cover'd with Green Turff.

1874 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 87 If the subsoil be poor, the turf should not be placed directly on it, but on a layer of good earth some inches thick.

a. A slab or block of peat dug for use as fuel.But in many districts turfs are distinguished from peats, as being pared from a dry surface, containing roots of grass and recent herbage, and being lighter coloured, while peats are usually dug from a ‘moss’ or bog, and consist chiefly of long-decayed and compressed vegetable matter, black or dark brown, formed from Sphagnum and other mosses.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > other organic fuels > [noun] > turf or peat

turfc1300

peat1333

turbaryc1450

turf1510

moor-coal1562

peat moss1775

bear's-muck1784

vag1796

breast-peat1802

gathering-peat1825

sod1825

bat1846

flight1847

mump1887

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [noun] > organic soil > peat or peaty soil > piece of

turfc1300

cess1847

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 939 He bar þe turues, he bar þe star, Þe wode fro the brigge he bar.

1363 Cockersand Chartul. (Chetham Soc.) I. 64 To delfe turvez and carye at theyr wylle in y^e mosse of Gayrstang.

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xv. lviii Myres and mores in þe whiche þei diggeþ turues and makeþ fuyre þereof in stede of wode.

1506 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. I. 623/2 Licentiam ad capiendum genestam, petas et glebas, viz. le hadir, petis et turffis.

1536 Act 28 Hen. VIII in R. Bolton Statutes Ireland (1621) 77 The third part of all the tythe torves.

1557 Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872) 235 Castand tirvis..without licence.

1592 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 755/1 Turris.

1604 Urie Court-bk. (1892) 4 Fewaill..syik as petteis, turris, or haidder.

1637 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 237/2 Cum..libertate lucrandi lie peittis plodis et truffis in maresia sua.

1709 G. Baillie Househ. Bk. (1911) 77 For 8 darg troves casting at 6 pence per day.

17.. Old Song in Jamieson at Tour O! is my corn a' shorn, he said, Or is my toors a' won?

1809 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 21 7 Turfs or peat, dug for fuel in the fenny parts of Cambridgshire.

1822 C. W. Wynn in Duke of Buckingham & Chandos Mem. Court George IV (1859) I. 275 There are considerable apprehension in Ireland of distress from the utter failure of the potatoes,..and of the turves which they were prevented by the wet from cutting.

b. collective as a substance; peat.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > other organic fuels > [noun] > turf or peat

turfc1300

peat1333

turbaryc1450

turf1510

moor-coal1562

peat moss1775

bear's-muck1784

vag1796

breast-peat1802

gathering-peat1825

sod1825

bat1846

flight1847

mump1887

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [noun] > organic soil > peat or peaty soil

peat1400

turbaryc1450

turf1510

moor1596

moor earth1607

bog-earth1787

yarpha1805

pegasse1825

bog-mould1834

1510 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 394 in Parl. Papers (C. 4576-I) XLII. 1 Anny man to bring in wode, troffe, or vattill.

1570 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandry (new ed.) f. 9 Ere winter doth come..get home with thy wood... thy tymber, thy furzen, thy turffe [1573 turfe], and thy cole.

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 500 Abundance of turfe gotten for fewell.

1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Turfing Spade In some Counties they call that Turf, which in others they name Peat, which is dug out of Fenny and Moorish Grounds.

1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 523 There is said to be coal on Raritan river,..and turf in Bethlehem.

1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. xiv. 312 Swamps, green with treacherous verdure, or sable with turf, or, as they call them in Scotland, peat-bogs.

1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. ii. 12 All tenants had right of pasture, and sometimes of turf.

1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 233 Accumulations of partially decomposed vegetable matter form the substance known as peat or turf.

4. the turf (often with capital T).

a. The grassy track or course over which horse racing takes place; hence, the institution, action, or practice of horse racing; the racing world.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun] > as institution

soda1753

the turf1755

1755 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 153/1 If you are a true sportsman, and have the honour of the turf at heart.

1771 P. Parsons Newmarket I. p. ii The heroes of the Turf.

1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Man of the turf, a horse racer, or jockey.

1803–5 W. Pick Turf Reg. (title page) All the Horses..that have appeared on the British and Irish Turfs as Racers.

1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. iii. v. 273 Have you any horses on the turf?

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 315 Already..there was among our nobility and gentry a passion for the amusements of the turf.

b. transferred. The road or street as the milieu of prostitutes, tramps, etc.; esp. on the turf, engaged in prostitution. slang.

ΘΚΠ

society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > engaged in prostitution [phrase]

upon the town1712

on (or upon) the loose1749

on the turf1860

on the game1898

on the bash1936

on the knock1969

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > as milieu of highwaymen, tramps, or prostitutes

road1724

the turf1860

1860 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang (ed. 2) On the turf, one who occupies himself with race course business; said also of a street-walker.

1899 ‘J. Flynt’ Tramping with Tramps i. ii. 28 The road proper, or ‘the turf’, as the people who toil along its stretches sometimes prefer to call it, is low life in general.

1936 H. Asbury French Quarter xii. 369 During [Kate Townsend's] early years ‘on the turf’, as the saying went, she was..thrifty and ambitious.

1962 T. Parker & R. Allerton Courage of his Convictions v. 179 I wouldn't let her go out on the turf, because of this thing I've got about not poncing.

1984 J. O'Donoghue Sergeant Horn's Murder Trap vi. 41 ‘I might have been one of Ma Dolma's brasses for all you know.’..‘Come off it. You've never been on the turf.’

5. Usually with substantive in possessive case or with possessive adjective. Originally and chiefly U.S.

a. The streets controlled by a juvenile street-gang and regarded by them as their territory.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > part of town or city > [noun] > other areas

friars1479

foreign1514

acropolis1570

sestiere1599

shopping district1837

downstreet1865

Latin Quarter1869

midtown1882

club-land1885

flat-land1889

brick area1895

turf1953

grey area1959

office park1963

bed-sitter-land1968

edge city1968

1953 Cramer & Karr Teen-age Gangs i. 4 He had looked forward to drifting pleasantly through the Emerald turf—the term currently used in Brooklyn instead of territory.

1953 Cramer & Karr Teen-age Gangs i. 6 No War Hawk was safe if caught on the turf of the Emeralds. And no Emerald was safe on the turf of the War Hawks.

1959 H. E. Salisbury Shook-up Generation i. 19 These blocks constituted the ‘turf’ of a well-known street-gang.

1964 New Society 20 Feb. 11/1 An acceptable alternative to the pub: the chippy on the turf—a chip shop in the gang's area.

1973 ‘J. Patrick’ Glasgow Gang Observed xx. 189 Like most American adolescent gangs..the Young Team attached enormous importance to territory and used the same word ‘turf’ for it.

b. The part of a city or other area within which a criminal, detective, etc., operates. Cf. patch n.¹ 10.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > place > [noun] > where one operates

beat1721

querencia1944

turf1962

patch1963

1962 Sat. Evening Post 28 Apr. 30/2 Her [sc. a social worker's] turf: the lower Bronx.

1966 ‘J. Ashford’ Consider Evid. iii. 23 She [sc. a prostitute] claimed she could make a hundred quid a week on her turf.

1971 N.Y. Times 10 Jan. xx-1/1 I came to Beverly Hills..to see the stars' home turf.

1976 D. Bennett Jigsaw Man (1977) viii. 153 Special Branch would not want to be involved in a killing so far from their own turf.

1978 S. Brill Teamsters ii. 48 As both men sat in prison, they were dividing up Teamsters turf.

c. transferred and figurative. A person's sphere of influence or activity.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > power > influence > [noun] > sphere of influence

pale1483

kitchen1552

demesne1597

manor1685

domain1744

ambient1902

turf1970

1970 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 17 Oct. 67/3 The lives of all our children and the very mindedness of society itself cannot be made whole as long as educators are obsessed by indecent needs to defend their own turfs.

1973 Family Circle Apr. 120/1 Male occupations are a turf from which women are excluded.

1977 J. F. Fixx Compl. Bk. Running xiii. 157 Dogs, he explained, are assiduous defenders of turf.

1982 ‘E. Lathen’ Green grow Dollars vii. 55 They think that, on their own turf, they can overawe Ackerman and Werzel.

Compounds

General attributive.

C1.

a. Simple attributive.

turf-ashes n.

ΚΠ

1763 Museum Rusticum (1764) 1 221 One sort of ashes, which are on all accounts valuable; I mean peat or turf-ashes.

turf-back n. back n.²

ΚΠ

1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. i. 13 I boldly entered the house;..narrowly escaping breaking my shins over a turf back and a salting tub.

turf-barge n.

ΚΠ

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. x. [Wandering Rocks] 212 Father Conmee saw a turfbarge... Father Conmee reflected on the providence of the Creator who had made turf to be in bogs where men might dig it out and bring it to town.

turf-bed n.

ΚΠ

1811 W. R. Spencer Poems 137 This turf-bed with flow'rs Ever crown'd.

turf-bog n.

ΚΠ

1686 W. King in Philos. Trans. 1685 (Royal Soc.) 15 950 I chiefly impute the red, or turf Bog to it [moss, called in the north of Ireland old wives' tow].

?1764 J. Bush Hibernia Curiosa 76 By the natives it [peat] is called turf..and from thence they are usually called turf bogs.

turf-cart n.

ΚΠ

1557 in J. P. Earwaker Lancs. & Cheshire Wills (1884) 61 Implements of husbandrye..ij torve cartes.

turf-charcoal n.

ΚΠ

1839 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 2 145/2 The iron founders..might probably..be supplied with turf-charcoal.

turf-fire n.

ΚΠ

1818 Lady Morgan in Passages from Autobiogr. (1859) 88 All my Irish turf-fire habits came strong upon me.

turf-fuel n.

ΚΠ

1838 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 383/2 Turf fuel is also used most extensively in working the steam engine in many districts of Ireland.

turf-ground n.

ΚΠ

1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 8 As stable a clod-mould, or turffe ground.

turf-heap n.

ΚΠ

1862 G. Borrow Wild Wales (1911) lxxxviii. 453 Turf-heaps..are in abundance in the vicinity.

turf-hole n.

ΚΠ

1851 G. Borrow Lavengro xii He had some difficulty in getting there on account of the turf-holes in the bog.

turf-house n.

ΚΠ

1569 in J. P. Earwaker Lancs. & Cheshire Wills (1884) 35 The haybarne and two bayes of the turfehowse next the halle.

1789 J. Wesley Jrnl. 26 May (1916) VII. 502 Part of them [sc. his congregation] were sheltered by a spacious turf-house, and the rest little regarded the rain.

1967 H. Harrison Technicolor Time Machine (1968) v. 50 Smoke still drifted down from the chimney hole of the squat, turf house.

turf-land n.

ΚΠ

a1625 H. Finch Law (1636) 286 Likewise an assise is giuen for common of Turue land, fishing, and such like.

1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. III. 144 Ashes, coals, bones, potsherds, trees, &c. are frequently found in the turf-lands or marshes in Holland and Friesland.

1910 Westm. Gaz. 19 Mar. 10/2 Hard at work in converting the barren surface into turf-land.

turf-moor n.

ΚΠ

1845 J. Phillips & C. G. B. Daubeny Geol. in Encycl. Metrop. VI. 595/2 The turf or peat moors,..which occur in low ground toward the estuaries of rivers.

turf-moss n.

ΚΠ

1583–4 Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 17 For workinge at the tourffe mosse [= bog] nene dayes xiij^d ob.

turf-nook n.

ΚΠ

1840 A. Laing Wayside Flowers (1878) 37 The truff neuk is toom o' its eenin' supply.

turf-pit n.

ΚΠ

1678 Massacre in Ireland 4 Thousands..were drowned, cast into Ditches, Bogs, and Turf-pits.

turf-pool n.

ΚΠ

1764 Museum Rusticum 2 cvi. 355 The pits, or turf-pools as they are commonly called.

turf-rick n.

ΚΠ

1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. iv. 39 A dozen men, who seemed to come out of a turf-rick.

turf-shears n.

ΚΠ

1822 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening ii. iii. 321 Turf-Shears.., for cutting the tops of box-edgings and the tufts of grass at the roots of shrubs.

turf-shed n.

ΚΠ

1912 Daily News 4 Oct. 6 The peat..has been stacked by now in rick or turf-shed ready for the winter's burning.

turf-smoke n.

ΚΠ

1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 68 Fish, dried in the turf smoke of their cabins, or shealings.

turf-stack n.

ΚΠ

1743 G. Baillie Househ. Bk. (1911) 279 That the Turf Stack be not tred down.

turf-wain n.

ΚΠ

1589 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 52 For dryvinge a turffe-wane a fortenyghte, xvj^d.

b. Made, built, or consisting of turf.

turf-cabin n.

ΚΠ

1865 A. Smith Summer in Skye v. 103 His school-house was a turf-cabin.

turf-dike n.

ΚΠ

1862 C. Kingsley Water-babies v, in Macmillan's Mag. Dec. 98/2 The wild Irish..liked better to brew potheen..shoot each other from behind turf-dykes.

turf-hedge n. (Webster, 1828.)

turf-hut n.

ΚΠ

1865 A. Smith Summer in Skye v. 101 We passed a colony of turf-huts.

turf-monument n.

ΚΠ

1695 J. Edwards Disc. conc. Old & New-Test. III. vi. 286 There are many of these Turf-Monuments on Salisbury-Plain.

turf-roof n.

ΚΠ

1871 W. Morris in J. W. Mackail Life W. Morris (1899) I. 247 Close by the sea lay the many gables (black wood with green turf-roofs).

turf-seat n.

ΚΠ

1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian vi, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 158 The old man was seated on the deas, or turf-seat, at the end of his cottage.

turf-walk n.

ΚΠ

1902 C. J. Cornish Naturalist on Thames 181 Half wild banks, and turfwalk stretches for nearly a mile among the fields.

turf-wall n.

ΚΠ

1849 H. D. Thoreau Week Concord & Merrimack Rivers 168 But as it were, by a turf wall this valley was concealed.

1911 J. Ward Rom. Era Brit. iii. 70 No trace of a turf-wall has been found.

c. (In sense 4.)

turf affair n.

ΚΠ

1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. II. 25 The man to whose guidance I have committed all my turf affairs.

turf-associate n.

turf-guide n.

ΚΠ

1868 E. Yates Rock Ahead i. vi Ruff, Bell, Bailey, and other leading turf-guides.

turf horse n.

ΚΠ

c1802 S. Chifney Genius Genuine (title page) Why the Turf Horses Degenerate.

turf-market n.

ΚΠ

1884 H. Smart From Post to Finish ix One of the wiliest speculators in the turf market.

turf parlance n.

ΚΠ

1884 Marshall's Tennis Cuts 148 It is only played by what in Turf-parlance we should call ‘crocks’, or gentlemen who are not physically capable of taking part in any other outdoor amusement.

turf phrase n.

ΚΠ

1884 Marshall's Tennis Cuts 141 From first to last Owen à Biscoe simply cantered away (to use a turf phrase) from his antagonist.

turf-racing n.

ΚΠ

1828 Sporting Mag. 22 235 His happiness was road-racing, as it is now turf-racing.

turf-writer n.

ΚΠ

1865 Daily Tel. 1 Nov. 5/1 ‘Warning off’ intruders, whether defaulting betters, or turf-writers whose criticisms were displeasing.

C2. Objective and objective genitive.

turf-digger n.

ΚΠ

1851 G. A. Mantell Petrifactions iii. §5. 308 A spade used by turf diggers.

turf-getter n.

ΚΠ

1753 Philos. Trans. 1751–2 (Royal Soc.) 47 221 I..have made all possible inquiry from the shepherds, turf-getters, &c.

turf-graver n.

ΚΠ

1483 Cath. Angl. 397/1 A Turfe grauer, glebarius, turbarius.

1905 Eng. Dial. Dict. VI. 268/1 We cut turves wiv a turf-greeaver.

turf-worker n.

turf-boring adj.

ΚΠ

1816 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1818) II. xxiii. 368 The common turf-boring crane-fly (T[ipula] oleracea, L.)..moves over the grass with her body in a vertical position.

turf-cutting adj.

ΚΠ

1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 154 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Turf-cutting field.

1882 F. Pollock in Macmillan's Mag. 46 362 It is subject..to rights of turf-cutting.

turf-forming adj.

ΚΠ

1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. vi. 301 Its meadows are clothed with turf-forming grasses.

turf-getting adj.

ΚΠ

1884 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester (1886) at Turf Turf-getting is a peculiar industry carried on at most of the larger peat bogs, and notably at Lindow Common near Wilmslow.

turf-graving adj.

ΚΠ

1411 Rolls of Parl. III. 650/1 Certein Commune of Pasture, and Turf-gravyng, the whiche the said Lord the Roos claymes.

C3. Instrumental.

turf-bound adj.

ΚΠ

1787 G. Winter New Syst. Husbandry 219 Harrowing loosens the hardened, turf-bound soil.

turf-built adj.

ΚΠ

a1748 J. Warton Ode to Fancy 5 My footsteps to thy temple guide, To offer at thy turf-built shrine.

1803 J. Leyden Scenes of Infancy iii. 364 On Yeta's banks the vagrant gypsies place Their turf-built cots; a sun-burnt swarthy race.

turf-clad adj.

ΚΠ

1782 V. Knox Ess. II. xciii. 45 The turf-clad heap of mould which covers the poor man's grave.

turf-coloured adj.

ΚΠ

1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist i. 58 He had skin the same colour as the turf-coloured bogwater in the..bath.

turf-covered adj.

ΚΠ

1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Turf-covered.

1898 F. Davis Romano-Brit. City of Silchester 21 Over the turf-covered area, denudation is not inoperative.

turf-grown adj.

ΚΠ

1867 J. G. Whittier Tent on Beach 10 Above..turf-grown wall They saw the fort flag rise and fall.

1893 W. Pater Wks. (1901) VIII. 147 They went through the endless, lonely, turf-grown tracts.

turf-laid adj.

ΚΠ

1806 J. Grahame Birds Scotl. 141 Still shall the turf-laid seat invite Thy weary limbs.

turf-like adj.

ΚΠ

1840 C. J. Lever Charles O'Malley xxx, in Dublin Univ. Mag. Sept. 348/1 A brown,..scruffy, turf-like face.

turf-roofed adj.

ΚΠ

1844 I. Williams Baptistery II. iv. 138 With each her Saviour deigns to dwell E'en in the turf-roof'd cell.

turf-spread adj.

turf-theekit adj. (Scottish, = thatched).

ΚΠ

1881 in D. H. Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets 3rd Ser. 75 Thy turf-theekit roof.

C4. Special combinations:

turf accountant n. a bookmaker in horse racing.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > [noun] > book-making > book-maker

commission agent1798

flash-man1812

bookmaker1833

commissioner1851

ring man1857

metallician1861

street bookmaker1867

bookie1877

book1881

knight of the pencil1885

handbook man1894

street bookie1911

turf accountant1915

listman1922

1915 Scots Pictorial 27 Mar. p. iv The time when the standing and stability of all turf accountants are put to the test.

turf-ant n. a small yellow European ant ( Formica flava, or Lasius flavus), living in dry heathy turf.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > member of genus Lasias

turf-ant1816

meadow ant1879

turf-ant1816

1816 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1818) II. 94 The little turf-ants (F[ormica] cæspitum, L.) carry their recruits uncoiled.

turf-boy n. (see quots.).

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > workers with other materials > [noun] > with peat or turf

turverc1440

graver1483

turf-cutter1819

turf-boy1905

1905 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 58 There was the turf boy whose duty it was to fill the turf-boxes.

1906 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ Some Irish Yesterdays 71 In those days the turf-boy was an institution... All day they plied bare-foot between the turf-house and the various fuel-depôts of the house with baskets.

turf-cake n. a teacake baked in a covered pan among the ashes of a peat-fire.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > cake baked in ashes

easle-cakec1440

shanty-cake1848

turf-cake1863

1863 E. C. Gaskell Sylvia's Lovers I. iv. 63 Neither cream nor finest wheaten flour was wanting for ‘turf-cakes’ and ‘singing-hinnies’.

turf-cutter n. one who is employed in cutting or digging peat; also, a turf-spade; also, a paring-plough or turf-plough.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > ploughing equipment > [noun] > plough > other types of plough

ox-plough?1523

double plough1653

chip plough1742

Rotherham plough1743

fluke plough1775

breaking plough1781

miner1794

snap-plough1798

turf-cutter1819

scooter plough1820

bull-tongue1831

prairie plough1831

split-plough1840

prairie breaker1857

straddle-plough1875

tickle-plough1875

chill-plough1886

stump-jump1896

swamp plough1930

prairie buster1943

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > workers with other materials > [noun] > with peat or turf

turverc1440

graver1483

turf-cutter1819

turf-boy1905

1819 W. Cobbett Year's Resid. U.S.A. ii. iv. 167 The surface of the land is taken off to a depth of two or three inches... In England, this operation is performed with a turf-cutter, and by hand.

1844 in Whitelaw Bk. Scot. Song (1875) 228 I promised to rove With the turf-cutter's daughter.

1861 G. H. Kingsley in F. Galton Vacation Tourists & Trav. 1860 164 The turf-cutter left her divots unturned.

turf-drain n. a drain in which the channel is covered by turves placed over it; a sod-drain.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > covered

wholve1395

whelmc1576

turf-drain1805

barrel-drain1823

tunnel1828

turf-draining1831

1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. Pl. xlviii. 332 Fig. 1. Represents a shouldered turf-drain.

turf-draining n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > covered

wholve1395

whelmc1576

turf-drain1805

barrel-drain1823

tunnel1828

turf-draining1831

1831 J. Morton Gloucestershire Vale-farm 26 in Farm-rep. Turf-draining answers well, where the turf is strong enough to bear ramming.

† turf-graft n. [graft n.³] Obsolete the right to dig turf for fuel; also, a place where turf is dug, a turbary.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > legal right > rights to do or use something > [noun] > right to cut peat

turf-graft1313

turbary1567

turvary1651

turfery1769

the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [noun] > peat-bog

turf-graft1313

turbary1363

peat mire1431

peat moss1505

peatbog1550

flow-mossc1565

cess1636

peat marsh1723

yarpha1805

peat moor1821

flow bog1831

raised bog1891

mire1946

raised mire1968

1313 Yorkshire Deeds (Yorks. Archaeol. Soc.) II. 18 [His common of pasture with] le turff graft [from either moor].

1483 Cath. Angl. 396/2 Turfe grafte, turbarium.

1773 Holme-on-Sp. Moor Inclos. Act 2 Which privilege of selling turves is called Turf-Graft.

turf-hog n. see quot.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > order Artiodactyla (cloven-hoofed animals) > pig > [noun]

swineOE

hogOE

grice?c1225

pig?a1425

pork?a1425

grunterc1440

gussie15..

grunting-cheat1567

snorter1601

sow's-baby1699

grumphie1786

piggy-wig1870

turf-hog1880

troughster1892

1880 W. B. Dawkins Early Man in Brit. viii. 261 The third group consists of the short-horned ox, the turf-hog, and the goat, which escaped from the servitude of man and reverted to a wild state.

turf-knife n. a cutting blade set upright in a curved handle, which is pushed along to mark out turves, lines of ditches, etc. (Ogilvie, 1882).

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for marking out work > [noun] > sharp > for marking turf

scoring-knife1725

turf-knife1841

1841 H. D. Thoreau Jrnl. 20 Apr. (1981) I. 302 The ditching spade and turf knife, may be engravd on the coat of arms of his posterity.

turf-line n. a line formed from turf; spec. in an archæological excavation, a layer of soil representing former grassland.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > soil mark

turf-line1935

soil mark1939

the world > the earth > land > landscape > fertile land or place > land with vegetation > [noun] > grassland > types of

links1487

sward1513

machair1692

scurf1708

sweet-veld1785

stone-turf1797

sour veld1801

undergrass1838

bent-land1883

undersward1883

turf-line1935

1935 E. H. W. Meyerstein in Kent Messenger 23 Mar. 16/5 One joy..To take the turf-line of the Pilgrim Road.

1936 Proc. Prehistoric Soc. 2 214 Well marked turf lines isolated these ditches from the Iron Age above them.

1957 V. G. Childe Dawn European Civilization (ed. 6) i. 3 Fossil turf-lines of Atlantic age.

1975 J. G. Evans Environment Early Man Brit. Isles vi. 119 At the surface of the buried soil is a thin stone-free horizon or turf line... This is caused by earthworm sorting.

turf-man n. a devotee of the turf, a racing man.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > people involved in horse racing > [noun] > devotee

turf-man1818

turfite1836

railbird1891

1818 Sporting Mag. 2 214 I never was a turfman, and am only a spectator.

1881 Scribner's Monthly 22 642 The form which turfmen love to see in a horse which they have backed heavily.

† turf-penny n. Obsolete a rent or due paid for turbary.

ΚΠ

1282 Inquisitions Post Mortem Edw. I (P.R.O.) File 31. m. 3 Coterii et bondi reddunt per annum de consuetudine que vocatur Turfpeny et grundpeni xlviij s. x d.

turf-plough n. a plough for paring off the surface to destroy weeds and grubs preparatory to deep ploughing (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. (1877).

turf-spade n. a spade for cutting turf or peats; also, a turfing-iron.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > turf- or peat-cutter

turf-spade1477

peat-spade1492

turfing-spade1677

slane1745

becket1764

rutter1778

turskill1812

turfing-iron1852

1477–8 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 95 Pro j Turfspade, 8d.

1824 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening (ed. 2) 2101 The turf-spade or turfing iron is employed to separate the individual turves.

1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. Turf-spade, turf-spit, the implement or tool used in graving Turves,..a triangular cutting instrument with one upright side, to sever the Turf sideways as well as from the subsoil.

turf-spanker n. name for a kind of croquet mallet: see quot.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > croquet > [noun] > mallet

mallet1611

turf-spanker1874

1874 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 25 The bottom of the cylindrical head..is sliced off, so that the part of the mallet that rests on the ground is quite flat. This ‘turf-spanker’..met with some opposition at first.

turf-stick n. a stick from a turbary or peatbog.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [noun] > stick, twig, or rod > from specific tree or place

hazela1613

turf-stick1843

tea-stick1865

1843 Florist's Jrnl. (1846) 4 86 A mixture of loam and peat, with all the turf-sticks, etc. contained in it, should be well chopped with the spade and mixed with some rich garden mould.

turf-tie n. see tye n.¹

ΚΠ

1912 Daily News 28 Feb. 4 Every Dartmoor farmer has his turf-tie lying somewhere near his farm in a hollow between the tors.

turf-time n. the season for digging turf, usually between hay-time and harvest.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > [noun] > time of year > season for specific agricultural operation

seedOE

seed timeOE

season1393

barley-selec1440

seednessc1450

seeding timea1594

turf-time1594

tid1799

1594 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 90 He is to be hired for haytyme, turvetyme and harvest.

turf-worm n. the sod-worm (sod-worm n. at sod n.¹ Compounds 2).

Draft additions March 2003

turf war n. (a) Sport a dispute regarding horse racing, or between organizations involved in the business of horse racing; (also) a horse race; (b) colloquial (chiefly North American), a dispute over territory; frequently in extended use.

ΚΠ

1897 N.Y. Times 26 July 3/4 Unless either the Queens County Jockey Club or the Metropolitan Turf Association gives in to the terms offered by the other..a lively turf war will be waged.

1969 N.Y. Times 2 Nov. s9/1 Ring, a Washington sportsman who returned to the turf wars a little over two years ago... bought Czar Alexander as a 2-year-old for $32,000.

1979 Science 204 1060 (heading) Jump in funding feeds research on nutrition. But the dollars also fuel a departmental turf war that threatens to sap the field of its newfound nourishment.

2001 Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) 18 May 6/2 Lemmer has been offered an insight into why the Cape Town police have been unable to stop the gang turf wars that have claimed more than 100 lives since the start of the year.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

turfv.

Forms: Also Middle English–1600s turve.

Etymology: < turf n.¹

a. transitive. To cover with turf; to lay with turf.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivation of specific crops > [verb (transitive)] > crop with grass or hay

turfc1430

sod1652

hay1708

meadow1768

to throw down1778

verd1778

grass1795

returf1824

stock1828

c1430 J. Lydgate Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 181 Alle the aleis were made playne with sond, The benches turued with newe turvis grene.

1598 Floure & Leafe in T. Speght Wks. G. Chaucer f. 366/1 A pleasaunt herber..That benched was and with turfes new Freshly turued.

1644 G. Plattes in S. Hartlib Legacy (1655) 187 Barley..had cover'd the ground so full, that it was as if it were even turfed with the Corn.

1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. i. 74 After you have new turfed the banks.

1882 C. F. Woolson Anne 118 Graves are made and turfed over.

b. transferred. To place or lay under the turf; to cover with turf, or as turf does; to bury; also intransitive with it, to die and be buried.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > bury or entomb [verb (transitive)]

bedelveOE

begraveOE

burya1000

beburyc1000

bifel-ec1000

layc1000

to fall, lull, lay (bring obs.) asleepOE

tombc1275

gravec1300

inter1303

rekec1330

to lap in leadc1340

to lay to rest, abed, to bed1340

lie1387

to louk in clay (lead, etc.)?a1400

to lay lowa1425

earthc1450

sepulture1490

to put awaya1500

tyrea1500

mould1530

to graith in the grave1535

ingrave1535

intumulate1535

sepult1544

intumil?c1550

yird1562

shrinea1566

infera1575

entomb1576

sepelite1577

shroud1577

funeral1578

to load with earth1578

delve1587

to lay up1591

sepulchrize1595

pit-hole1607

infuneral1610

mool1610

inhumate1612

inurna1616

inhume1616

pit1621

tumulate1623

sepulchrea1626

turf1628

underlay1639

urna1657

to lay to sleep, asleep1701

envaulta1745

plant1785

ensepulchre1820

sheugh1839

to put under1879

to lay away1885

the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > cover [verb (transitive)] > cover over or up > under the ground or bury

delvec1175

indelve1382

mine?1440

dig1530

bury1535

inter1601

inhume1626

turf1628

earthen1708

inearth1801

the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)]

forsweltc888

sweltc888

adeadeOE

deadc950

wendeOE

i-wite971

starveOE

witea1000

forfereOE

forthfareOE

forworthc1000

to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE

queleOE

fallOE

to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE

to shed (one's own) blood?a1100

diec1135

endc1175

farec1175

to give up the ghostc1175

letc1200

aswelta1250

leavea1250

to-sweltc1275

to-worthc1275

to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290

finea1300

spilla1300

part?1316

to leese one's life-daysa1325

to nim the way of deathc1325

to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330

flit1340

trance1340

determinec1374

disperisha1382

to go the way of all the eartha1382

to be gathered to one's fathers1382

miscarryc1387

shut1390

goa1393

to die upa1400

expirea1400

fleea1400

to pass awaya1400

to seek out of lifea1400–50

to sye hethena1400

tinea1400

trespass14..

espirec1430

to end one's days?a1439

decease1439

to go away?a1450

ungoc1450

unlivec1450

to change one's lifea1470

vade1495

depart1501

to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513

to decease this world1515

to go over?1520

jet1530

vade1530

to go westa1532

to pick over the perch1532

galpa1535

to die the death1535

to depart to God1548

to go home1561

mort1568

inlaikc1575

shuffle1576

finish1578

to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587

relent1587

unbreathe1589

transpass1592

to lose one's breath1596

to make a die (of it)1611

to go offa1616

fail1623

to go out1635

to peak over the percha1641

exita1652

drop1654

to knock offa1657

to kick upa1658

to pay nature her due1657

ghost1666

to march off1693

to die off1697

pike1697

to drop off1699

tip (over) the perch1699

to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703

sink1718

vent1718

to launch into eternity1719

to join the majority1721

demise1727

to pack off1735

to slip one's cable1751

turf1763

to move off1764

to pop off the hooks1764

to hop off1797

to pass on1805

to go to glory1814

sough1816

to hand in one's accounts1817

to slip one's breatha1819

croak1819

to slip one's wind1819

stiffen1820

weed1824

buy1825

to drop short1826

to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839

to get one's (also the) call1839

to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840

to unreeve one's lifeline1840

to step out1844

to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845

to hand in one's checks1845

to go off the handle1848

to go under1848

succumb1849

to turn one's toes up1851

to peg out1852

walk1858

snuff1864

to go or be up the flume1865

to pass outc1867

to cash in one's chips1870

to go (also pass over) to the majority1883

to cash in1884

to cop it1884

snuff1885

to belly up1886

perch1886

to kick the bucket1889

off1890

to knock over1892

to pass over1897

to stop one1901

to pass in1904

to hand in one's marble1911

the silver cord is loosed1911

pip1913

to cross over1915

conk1917

to check out1921

to kick off1921

to pack up1925

to step off1926

to take the ferry1928

peg1931

to meet one's Maker1933

to kiss off1935

to crease it1959

zonk1968

cark1977

to cark it1979

to take a dirt nap1981

1628 [implied in: O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xxv. sig. N Degenerate Man! that hauing so often experimented his Iugling, wilt yet beleeue his fictions, and his turfed Mines. (at turfed adj.²)].

1763 J. Cowper Let. 9 Jan. in H. P. Stokes Cowper Memorials (1904) 563 That you may not think I have turfed it, to speak in the Newmarket phrase;..I send you this letter.

1844 J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & Widows II. xxxii. 235 Until the governor was turfed.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Merlin & Vivien 655 in Idylls of King As vast a mound As after furious battle turfs the slain.

1888 G. Meredith Question Whither i You who sadly turf us, Believe not that all living seed Must flower above the surface.

2. To dig up or excavate for turf or peat.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [verb (transitive)] > dig (hole, etc.) > dig for peat or turf

turf1780

1780 Ingenhousz in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 70 372 Draining a large meer..which was turfed out in former ages.

1878 J. Davidson Inverurie 352 They protected the burgh muir from being indiscriminately turfed.

3. intransitive. To get turf or peat for fuel. dialect.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > other organic fuels > get turf or peat for fuel [verb (intransitive)]

turf1876

1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby ‘We're turfing’, getting our turves for a winter supply.

1896 S. Baring-Gould Dartmoor Idylls v. 131 Her wants to take the washing..and the turving out o' my hands.

4. transitive. To throw or kick (a person, etc.) forcibly out (occasionally off); also transferred. colloquial. Without const. (Public School slang), to kick.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the foot > kick

smitec1330

frontc1400

punch1449

kick1598

calcitrate1623

bunch1647

pause1673

pote1673

purr1847

boot1877

turf1888

root1890

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > expel > specific people from a place, position, or possession > forcibly or ignominiously

eject1555

rumble1570

obtrude1595

to show (a person) the door1638

to kick downstairs1678

to kick out1697

drum1720

firk1823

to chuck out1869

bounce1877

boot1880

out-kick1883

turf1888

hoof1893

hound1922

1888 R. Kipling Only Subaltern in Under Deodars 97 The Colonel will turf you out of that in double quick time.

1905 H. A. Vachell Hill ii. 32 Sorry I turfed that little ass so hard... [Note] To ‘turf’, i.e. to kick—Harroviana.

1925 P. G. Wodehouse Carry on, Jeeves 90 The old boy turfed me out, Bertie, because he said I was a brainless nincompoop.

1930 J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement viii. 410 She'd bought hundreds of them [sc. magazines]. I've just had them turfed out.

1957 C. MacInnes City of Spades ii. iv. 128 The guv'nor tried turfing them all out at first..but he's given up the struggle.

1976 J. I. M. Stewart Memorial Service iv. 58 These people have become my colleagues. If you use that sort of language about them I'll have to turf you out myself.

1977 ‘O. Jacks’ Autumn Heroes iv. 60 The plane's loaded... I can't turf off passengers.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2021).

单词	turf
释义	turfn.¹ Brit. /təːf/, U.S. /tərf/ Forms: Old English– turf; also Middle English–1600s turfe, Middle English torf, Middle English (1700s–1800s dialect) turff, 1500s–1600s turffe, (Middle English turfh, 1500s turph, tourffe, torve, towrve, 1500s–1600s turue, turve, 1600s turfth, terf, turph); 1500s toure, Scottish1500s– turr, (1700s–1800s toor, ture, 1800s tour, toure, etc.). plural Old English tyrf; Middle English–1500s turues (v), (Middle English turuys, 1500s Scottish turuis), Middle English–1600s torues (v), (Middle English toruys), 1500s– turves (Scottish1500s tirvis); Middle English– turfs (1500s tyrfes, 1500s–1600s Scottish turreffis, turres, turris). β. 1500s troffe, 1600s truffe, 1600s–1800s truff; plural Scottish1500s–1600s truiffis, 1500s–1700s troves, trovis. Etymology: Old English turf feminine consonant stem (genitive-dative singular and nominative-accusative plural tyrf ): Common Germanic (with variation of gender and declension); compare Old Frisian turf (East Frisian turf ); Old Saxon turf , (Middle Dutch torf , turf , Dutch turf ), Middle Low German, Low German torf (whence modern German torf peat); Old High German zurba , zurf ‘terra avulsa, cespes’, sod; Old Norse torf (Norwegian torv , Swedish torf , Danish tørv ) < Old Germanic turƀ- , < Indo-European drbh : compare Sanskrit darbhá tuft of grass, < drbh to make into tufts, string together. From the Germanic came also medieval Latin turba (compare turbary n.), French tourbe (1200), Italian torba, Spanish turba. 1. a. A slab pared from the surface of the soil with the grass and herbage growing on it; a sod of grass, with the roots and earth adhering. Also, in early quots., a small portion of the sward in situ. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > sod turfc725 flagc1440 clot1460 soda1475 shirrel1513 ploud1535 peat1570 clod1594 roughhead1631 pare1651 scurf1708 flaw1811 the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > herb or herbaceous plant > [noun] > herbage or grass > tuft, sod, or sop turfc725 sopa1642 mock1844 c725 Corpus Gloss. (O.E.T.) 452 Cespites (pl.), tyrb. a1000 Prose Life Guthlac (1848) xv. 64 Hi þa [flaxan] gehyddon under anre tyrf. c1000 Sax. Leechd. l. 290 Ðeos wyrt..of anre tyrf manega bogas asendeþ. c1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 189 Þa gewrohte he [Seuerus] weall mid turfum, & bred weall ðær on ufon fram sæ to sæ. a1250 Owl & Nightingale 1167 Hervore hit is þat me þe suneþ & þe totorueþ & tobuneþ Mid staue & stone & turf & clute. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7682 Vortigerne þe king bi-tahte heom al þis lond. þat ne bilæfde him an honde a turf [c1300 Otho torf] of londe. c1386 G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale 991 A bench of turues [v.rr. turves, torues] fressh and grene. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 16762 + 120 War-on he miȝt dee fayre, Ne a torf of herd erth. ?1482 J. Kay tr. G. Caoursin Siege of Rhodes They made certayn dyches..and couered theym with grene bowes, and afterward they putted erthe and turues vppon the same. 1551 J. Bale Actes Eng. Votaryes: 2nd Pt. f. lvij^v His owne clergye wold scarsely suffer hym to be buryed w^tout the church vndre tyrfes or soddes of the grasse. 1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Biiii^v Vpon a benche coueryd wyth grene torues we satte downe. 1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 252 There are some..that..will readily part with the great Reversion of another World for a Turf of Ground in present Possession. 1776 W. Withering Brit. Plants (1796) II. 509 In a turf containing 6 plants the roots were all distinct. 1831 On Planting (Libr. Useful Knowl.) v. 53 The coping consisted of a row of turfs laid with the grass side upwards. 1850 G. Glenny Hand-bk. Flower Garden 40 The compost in which it should be grown is, loam from rotted turves. b. collective, as a substance or material. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > turf > [noun] > for building or constructing turf1565 set sod1844 sodding1852 sward-earth1852 1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. i. v. f. 16 A trench and a rampaire of turue and timber, thyck fenced with bulwarkes and turrets. 1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iii. 132 A number of other places fortified with earth and turfe onely. 1774 M. Mackenzie Treat. Maritim Surv. 66 Cause Turrets, or Signals, of Stone or Turf, to be built. 1821 Ld. Byron Cain iii. i, in Sardanapalus 422 They to me are so much turf And stone. †c. A clod of earth. Also figurative cf. clod n. 4. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > stupid person, dolt, blockhead > [noun] asseOE sotc1000 beastc1225 long-ear?a1300 stock1303 buzzard1377 mis-feelinga1382 dasarta1400 stonea1400 dasiberd14.. dottlec1400 doddypoll1401 dastardc1440 dotterel1440 dullardc1440 wantwit1449 jobardc1475 nollc1475 assheada1500 mulea1500 dull-pate15.. peak1509 dulbert?a1513 doddy-patec1525 noddypolla1529 hammer-head1532 dull-head?1534 capon1542 dolt1543 blockhead1549 cod's head1549 mome1550 grout-head1551 gander1553 skit-brains?1553 blocka1556 calfa1556 tomfool1565 dunce1567 druggard1569 cobble1570 dummel1570 Essex calf1573 jolthead1573 hardhead1576 beetle-head1577 dor-head1577 groutnoll1578 grosshead1580 thickskin1582 noddyship?1589 jobbernowl1592 beetle-brain1593 Dorbel1593 oatmeal-groat1594 loggerhead1595 block-pate1598 cittern-head1598 noddypoop1598 dorbellist1599 numps1599 dor1601 stump1602 ram-head1605 look-like-a-goose1606 ruff1606 clod1607 turf1607 asinego1609 clot-poll1609 doddiea1611 druggle1611 duncecomb1612 ox-head1613 clod-polla1616 dulman1615 jolterhead1620 bullhead1624 dunderwhelpa1625 dunderhead1630 macaroona1631 clod-patea1635 clota1637 dildo1638 clot-pate1640 stupid1640 clod-head1644 stub1644 simpletonian1652 bottle-head1654 Bœotiana1657 vappe1657 lackwit1668 cudden1673 plant-animal1673 dolt-head1679 cabbage head1682 put1688 a piece of wood1691 ouphe1694 dunderpate1697 numbskull1697 leather-head1699 nocky1699 Tom Cony1699 mopus1700 bluff-head1703 clod skull1707 dunny1709 dowf1722 stupe1722 gamphrel1729 gobbin?1746 duncehead1749 half-wit1755 thick-skull1755 jackass1756 woollen-head1756 numbhead1757 beef-head1775 granny1776 stupid-head1792 stunpolla1794 timber-head1794 wether heada1796 dummy1796 noghead1800 staumrel1802 muttonhead1803 num1807 dummkopf1809 tumphya1813 cod's head and shoulders1820 stoopid1823 thick-head1824 gype1825 stob1825 stookiea1828 woodenhead1831 ning-nong1832 log-head1834 fat-head1835 dunderheadism1836 turnip1837 mudhead1838 donkey1840 stupex1843 cabbage1844 morepork1845 lubber-head1847 slowpoke1847 stupiditarian1850 pudding-head1851 cod's head and shoulders1852 putty head1853 moke1855 mullet-head1855 pothead1855 mug1857 thick1857 boodle1862 meathead1863 missing link1863 half-baked1866 lunk1867 turnip-head1869 rummy1872 pumpkin-head1876 tattie1879 chump1883 dully1883 cretin1884 lunkhead1884 mopstick1886 dumbhead1887 peanut head1891 pie-face1891 doughbakea1895 butt-head1896 pinhead1896 cheesehead1900 nyamps1900 box head1902 bonehead1903 chickenhead1903 thickwit1904 cluck1906 boob1907 John1908 mooch1910 nitwit1910 dikkop1913 goop1914 goofus1916 rumdum1916 bone dome1917 moron1917 oik1917 jabroni1919 dumb-bell1920 knob1920 goon1921 dimwit1922 ivory dome1923 stone jug1923 dingleberry1924 gimp1924 bird brain1926 jughead1926 cloth-head1927 dumb1928 gazook1928 mouldwarp1928 ding-dong1929 stupido1929 mook1930 sparrow-brain1930 knobhead1931 dip1932 drip1932 epsilon1932 bohunkus1933 Nimrod1933 dumbass1934 zombie1936 pea-brain1938 knot-head1940 schlump1941 jarhead1942 Joe Soap1943 knuckle-head1944 nong1944 lame-brain1945 gobshite1946 rock-head1947 potato head1948 jerko1949 turkey1951 momo1953 poop-head1955 a right one1958 bam1959 nong-nong1959 dickhead1960 dumbo1960 Herbert1960 lamer1961 bampot1962 dipshit1963 bamstick1965 doofus1965 dick1966 pillock1967 zipperhead1967 dipstick1968 thickie1968 poephol1969 yo-yo1970 doof1971 cockhead1972 nully1973 thicko1976 wazzock1976 motorhead1979 mouth-breather1979 no-brainer1979 jerkwad1980 woodentop1981 dickwad1983 dough ball1983 dickweed1984 bawheid1985 numpty1985 jerkweed1988 dick-sucker1989 knob-end1989 Muppet1989 dingus1997 dicksack1999 eight ball- the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > clod clouta1250 gluga1382 clotc1400 clodc1440 glebea1513 turf1607 clat1628 1607 J. Marston What you Will ii. i He is a turfe that will be slave to man. 1674 Abp. Leighton in O. Airy Lauderdale Papers. (1885) III. 76 Those pains and distempers that hang about this litle crazy turf of earth y^t I carry. †d. A sod cut from the turf of an estate, etc., as a token or symbol of possession. Also in phrase turf and twig. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > law > transfer of property > putting in possession > [noun] > handing over of symbol of possession > object handed over > specific wandc1420 turf1585 verge1607 1585 in H. Hall Society in Elizabethan Age (1886) 239 Delyvered lyke possession..by a turffe cutt there. 1613 R. Harcourt Relation Voy. Guiana 42 I tooke possession of the land, by turfe and twig. 1650 J. Trapp Clavis to Bible (Gen. xiv. 23) 123 The most High God, possessour of heaven and earth, who hath sent me with this bread and wine, as by turfe and twig, as by an earnest, and a little for the whole, to give thee possession of both. 2. a. collective singular. The covering of grass and other plants, with its matted roots, forming the surface of grassland; the greensward; growing grass. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > herb or herbaceous plant > [noun] > herbage or grass grasseOE turfc890 herbc1384 herbage1390 herberiea1400 verdure1447 summer grass1531 c890 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) v. vi. 400 Sum stan ðære eorðan gelic mid ðinre tyrf bewrigen. a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 236/18 Feraces glebas, þa wæstmbære tyrf. a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 240/27 Florei cespitis, blowendre tyrf. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 15 Vnder þe torf of þe lond is good marl i-founde. a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. iv. 44 The Shepheard..Who you saw sitting by me on the Turph. 1637 J. Milton Comus 10 They left me weary on a grassie terfe. 1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 4 The first Stratum immediately under the Turff, a yellowish Clay. 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. i. i. 3 The first few flowers and fresh turf of the reviving Spring. 1895 G. W. Smalley Stud. Men 144 Sunny glades clothed in rough turf. b. as a substance or material. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > turf > [noun] > for lawns or sports fields turf1601 sea-washed turf1931 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xvii. xiv. 518 To preserve it [the graft] with turfe and mosse against the injurie of rain and cold. 1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 429 These Fabrickes are..erected in a singular Frame of Smoake-torne straw, greene long prick'd truff [1682 turff], and Raine-dropping watles. 1706 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 12 Apr. (O.H.S.) I. 223 The..Garden.. he order'd to be cover'd with Green Turff. 1874 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 87 If the subsoil be poor, the turf should not be placed directly on it, but on a layer of good earth some inches thick. 3. a. A slab or block of peat dug for use as fuel.But in many districts turfs are distinguished from peats, as being pared from a dry surface, containing roots of grass and recent herbage, and being lighter coloured, while peats are usually dug from a ‘moss’ or bog, and consist chiefly of long-decayed and compressed vegetable matter, black or dark brown, formed from Sphagnum and other mosses. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > other organic fuels > [noun] > turf or peat turfc1300 peat1333 turbaryc1450 turf1510 moor-coal1562 peat moss1775 bear's-muck1784 vag1796 breast-peat1802 gathering-peat1825 sod1825 bat1846 flight1847 mump1887 the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [noun] > organic soil > peat or peaty soil > piece of turfc1300 cess1847 c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 939 He bar þe turues, he bar þe star, Þe wode fro the brigge he bar. 1363 Cockersand Chartul. (Chetham Soc.) I. 64 To delfe turvez and carye at theyr wylle in y^e mosse of Gayrstang. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xv. lviii Myres and mores in þe whiche þei diggeþ turues and makeþ fuyre þereof in stede of wode. 1506 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. I. 623/2 Licentiam ad capiendum genestam, petas et glebas, viz. le hadir, petis et turffis. 1536 Act 28 Hen. VIII in R. Bolton Statutes Ireland (1621) 77 The third part of all the tythe torves. 1557 Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872) 235 Castand tirvis..without licence. 1592 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 755/1 Turris. 1604 Urie Court-bk. (1892) 4 Fewaill..syik as petteis, turris, or haidder. 1637 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 237/2 Cum..libertate lucrandi lie peittis plodis et truffis in maresia sua. 1709 G. Baillie Househ. Bk. (1911) 77 For 8 darg troves casting at 6 pence per day. 17.. Old Song in Jamieson at Tour O! is my corn a' shorn, he said, Or is my toors a' won? 1809 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 21 7 Turfs or peat, dug for fuel in the fenny parts of Cambridgshire. 1822 C. W. Wynn in Duke of Buckingham & Chandos Mem. Court George IV (1859) I. 275 There are considerable apprehension in Ireland of distress from the utter failure of the potatoes,..and of the turves which they were prevented by the wet from cutting. b. collective as a substance; peat. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > other organic fuels > [noun] > turf or peat turfc1300 peat1333 turbaryc1450 turf1510 moor-coal1562 peat moss1775 bear's-muck1784 vag1796 breast-peat1802 gathering-peat1825 sod1825 bat1846 flight1847 mump1887 the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [noun] > organic soil > peat or peaty soil peat1400 turbaryc1450 turf1510 moor1596 moor earth1607 bog-earth1787 yarpha1805 pegasse1825 bog-mould1834 1510 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 394 in Parl. Papers (C. 4576-I) XLII. 1 Anny man to bring in wode, troffe, or vattill. 1570 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandry (new ed.) f. 9 Ere winter doth come..get home with thy wood... thy tymber, thy furzen, thy turffe [1573 turfe], and thy cole. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 500 Abundance of turfe gotten for fewell. 1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Turfing Spade In some Counties they call that Turf, which in others they name Peat, which is dug out of Fenny and Moorish Grounds. 1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 523 There is said to be coal on Raritan river,..and turf in Bethlehem. 1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. xiv. 312 Swamps, green with treacherous verdure, or sable with turf, or, as they call them in Scotland, peat-bogs. 1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. ii. 12 All tenants had right of pasture, and sometimes of turf. 1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 233 Accumulations of partially decomposed vegetable matter form the substance known as peat or turf. 4. the turf (often with capital T). a. The grassy track or course over which horse racing takes place; hence, the institution, action, or practice of horse racing; the racing world. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun] > as institution soda1753 the turf1755 1755 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 153/1 If you are a true sportsman, and have the honour of the turf at heart. 1771 P. Parsons Newmarket I. p. ii The heroes of the Turf. 1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Man of the turf, a horse racer, or jockey. 1803–5 W. Pick Turf Reg. (title page) All the Horses..that have appeared on the British and Irish Turfs as Racers. 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. iii. v. 273 Have you any horses on the turf? 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 315 Already..there was among our nobility and gentry a passion for the amusements of the turf. b. transferred. The road or street as the milieu of prostitutes, tramps, etc.; esp. on the turf, engaged in prostitution. slang. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > engaged in prostitution [phrase] upon the town1712 on (or upon) the loose1749 on the turf1860 on the game1898 on the bash1936 on the knock1969 society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > as milieu of highwaymen, tramps, or prostitutes road1724 the turf1860 1860 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang (ed. 2) On the turf, one who occupies himself with race course business; said also of a street-walker. 1899 ‘J. Flynt’ Tramping with Tramps i. ii. 28 The road proper, or ‘the turf’, as the people who toil along its stretches sometimes prefer to call it, is low life in general. 1936 H. Asbury French Quarter xii. 369 During [Kate Townsend's] early years ‘on the turf’, as the saying went, she was..thrifty and ambitious. 1962 T. Parker & R. Allerton Courage of his Convictions v. 179 I wouldn't let her go out on the turf, because of this thing I've got about not poncing. 1984 J. O'Donoghue Sergeant Horn's Murder Trap vi. 41 ‘I might have been one of Ma Dolma's brasses for all you know.’..‘Come off it. You've never been on the turf.’ 5. Usually with substantive in possessive case or with possessive adjective. Originally and chiefly U.S. a. The streets controlled by a juvenile street-gang and regarded by them as their territory. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > part of town or city > [noun] > other areas friars1479 foreign1514 acropolis1570 sestiere1599 shopping district1837 downstreet1865 Latin Quarter1869 midtown1882 club-land1885 flat-land1889 brick area1895 turf1953 grey area1959 office park1963 bed-sitter-land1968 edge city1968 1953 Cramer & Karr Teen-age Gangs i. 4 He had looked forward to drifting pleasantly through the Emerald turf—the term currently used in Brooklyn instead of territory. 1953 Cramer & Karr Teen-age Gangs i. 6 No War Hawk was safe if caught on the turf of the Emeralds. And no Emerald was safe on the turf of the War Hawks. 1959 H. E. Salisbury Shook-up Generation i. 19 These blocks constituted the ‘turf’ of a well-known street-gang. 1964 New Society 20 Feb. 11/1 An acceptable alternative to the pub: the chippy on the turf—a chip shop in the gang's area. 1973 ‘J. Patrick’ Glasgow Gang Observed xx. 189 Like most American adolescent gangs..the Young Team attached enormous importance to territory and used the same word ‘turf’ for it. b. The part of a city or other area within which a criminal, detective, etc., operates. Cf. patch n.¹ 10. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > [noun] > where one operates beat1721 querencia1944 turf1962 patch1963 1962 Sat. Evening Post 28 Apr. 30/2 Her [sc. a social worker's] turf: the lower Bronx. 1966 ‘J. Ashford’ Consider Evid. iii. 23 She [sc. a prostitute] claimed she could make a hundred quid a week on her turf. 1971 N.Y. Times 10 Jan. xx-1/1 I came to Beverly Hills..to see the stars' home turf. 1976 D. Bennett Jigsaw Man (1977) viii. 153 Special Branch would not want to be involved in a killing so far from their own turf. 1978 S. Brill Teamsters ii. 48 As both men sat in prison, they were dividing up Teamsters turf. c. transferred and figurative. A person's sphere of influence or activity. ΘΚΠ society > authority > power > influence > [noun] > sphere of influence pale1483 kitchen1552 demesne1597 manor1685 domain1744 ambient1902 turf1970 1970 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 17 Oct. 67/3 The lives of all our children and the very mindedness of society itself cannot be made whole as long as educators are obsessed by indecent needs to defend their own turfs. 1973 Family Circle Apr. 120/1 Male occupations are a turf from which women are excluded. 1977 J. F. Fixx Compl. Bk. Running xiii. 157 Dogs, he explained, are assiduous defenders of turf. 1982 ‘E. Lathen’ Green grow Dollars vii. 55 They think that, on their own turf, they can overawe Ackerman and Werzel. Compounds General attributive. C1. a. Simple attributive. turf-ashes n. ΚΠ 1763 Museum Rusticum (1764) 1 221 One sort of ashes, which are on all accounts valuable; I mean peat or turf-ashes. turf-back n. back n.² ΚΠ 1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. i. 13 I boldly entered the house;..narrowly escaping breaking my shins over a turf back and a salting tub. turf-barge n. ΚΠ 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. x. [Wandering Rocks] 212 Father Conmee saw a turfbarge... Father Conmee reflected on the providence of the Creator who had made turf to be in bogs where men might dig it out and bring it to town. turf-bed n. ΚΠ 1811 W. R. Spencer Poems 137 This turf-bed with flow'rs Ever crown'd. turf-bog n. ΚΠ 1686 W. King in Philos. Trans. 1685 (Royal Soc.) 15 950 I chiefly impute the red, or turf Bog to it [moss, called in the north of Ireland old wives' tow]. ?1764 J. Bush Hibernia Curiosa 76 By the natives it [peat] is called turf..and from thence they are usually called turf bogs. turf-cart n. ΚΠ 1557 in J. P. Earwaker Lancs. & Cheshire Wills (1884) 61 Implements of husbandrye..ij torve cartes. turf-charcoal n. ΚΠ 1839 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 2 145/2 The iron founders..might probably..be supplied with turf-charcoal. turf-fire n. ΚΠ 1818 Lady Morgan in Passages from Autobiogr. (1859) 88 All my Irish turf-fire habits came strong upon me. turf-fuel n. ΚΠ 1838 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 383/2 Turf fuel is also used most extensively in working the steam engine in many districts of Ireland. turf-ground n. ΚΠ 1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 8 As stable a clod-mould, or turffe ground. turf-heap n. ΚΠ 1862 G. Borrow Wild Wales (1911) lxxxviii. 453 Turf-heaps..are in abundance in the vicinity. turf-hole n. ΚΠ 1851 G. Borrow Lavengro xii He had some difficulty in getting there on account of the turf-holes in the bog. turf-house n. ΚΠ 1569 in J. P. Earwaker Lancs. & Cheshire Wills (1884) 35 The haybarne and two bayes of the turfehowse next the halle. 1789 J. Wesley Jrnl. 26 May (1916) VII. 502 Part of them [sc. his congregation] were sheltered by a spacious turf-house, and the rest little regarded the rain. 1967 H. Harrison Technicolor Time Machine (1968) v. 50 Smoke still drifted down from the chimney hole of the squat, turf house. turf-land n. ΚΠ a1625 H. Finch Law (1636) 286 Likewise an assise is giuen for common of Turue land, fishing, and such like. 1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. III. 144 Ashes, coals, bones, potsherds, trees, &c. are frequently found in the turf-lands or marshes in Holland and Friesland. 1910 Westm. Gaz. 19 Mar. 10/2 Hard at work in converting the barren surface into turf-land. turf-moor n. ΚΠ 1845 J. Phillips & C. G. B. Daubeny Geol. in Encycl. Metrop. VI. 595/2 The turf or peat moors,..which occur in low ground toward the estuaries of rivers. turf-moss n. ΚΠ 1583–4 Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 17 For workinge at the tourffe mosse [= bog] nene dayes xiij^d ob. turf-nook n. ΚΠ 1840 A. Laing Wayside Flowers (1878) 37 The truff neuk is toom o' its eenin' supply. turf-pit n. ΚΠ 1678 Massacre in Ireland 4 Thousands..were drowned, cast into Ditches, Bogs, and Turf-pits. turf-pool n. ΚΠ 1764 Museum Rusticum 2 cvi. 355 The pits, or turf-pools as they are commonly called. turf-rick n. ΚΠ 1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. iv. 39 A dozen men, who seemed to come out of a turf-rick. turf-shears n. ΚΠ 1822 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening ii. iii. 321 Turf-Shears.., for cutting the tops of box-edgings and the tufts of grass at the roots of shrubs. turf-shed n. ΚΠ 1912 Daily News 4 Oct. 6 The peat..has been stacked by now in rick or turf-shed ready for the winter's burning. turf-smoke n. ΚΠ 1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 68 Fish, dried in the turf smoke of their cabins, or shealings. turf-stack n. ΚΠ 1743 G. Baillie Househ. Bk. (1911) 279 That the Turf Stack be not tred down. turf-wain n. ΚΠ 1589 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 52 For dryvinge a turffe-wane a fortenyghte, xvj^d. b. Made, built, or consisting of turf. turf-cabin n. ΚΠ 1865 A. Smith Summer in Skye v. 103 His school-house was a turf-cabin. turf-dike n. ΚΠ 1862 C. Kingsley Water-babies v, in Macmillan's Mag. Dec. 98/2 The wild Irish..liked better to brew potheen..shoot each other from behind turf-dykes. turf-hedge n. (Webster, 1828.) turf-hut n. ΚΠ 1865 A. Smith Summer in Skye v. 101 We passed a colony of turf-huts. turf-monument n. ΚΠ 1695 J. Edwards Disc. conc. Old & New-Test. III. vi. 286 There are many of these Turf-Monuments on Salisbury-Plain. turf-roof n. ΚΠ 1871 W. Morris in J. W. Mackail Life W. Morris (1899) I. 247 Close by the sea lay the many gables (black wood with green turf-roofs). turf-seat n. ΚΠ 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian vi, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 158 The old man was seated on the deas, or turf-seat, at the end of his cottage. turf-walk n. ΚΠ 1902 C. J. Cornish Naturalist on Thames 181 Half wild banks, and turfwalk stretches for nearly a mile among the fields. turf-wall n. ΚΠ 1849 H. D. Thoreau Week Concord & Merrimack Rivers 168 But as it were, by a turf wall this valley was concealed. 1911 J. Ward Rom. Era Brit. iii. 70 No trace of a turf-wall has been found. c. (In sense 4.) turf affair n. ΚΠ 1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. II. 25 The man to whose guidance I have committed all my turf affairs. turf-associate n. turf-guide n. ΚΠ 1868 E. Yates Rock Ahead i. vi Ruff, Bell, Bailey, and other leading turf-guides. turf horse n. ΚΠ c1802 S. Chifney Genius Genuine (title page) Why the Turf Horses Degenerate. turf-market n. ΚΠ 1884 H. Smart From Post to Finish ix One of the wiliest speculators in the turf market. turf parlance n. ΚΠ 1884 Marshall's Tennis Cuts 148 It is only played by what in Turf-parlance we should call ‘crocks’, or gentlemen who are not physically capable of taking part in any other outdoor amusement. turf phrase n. ΚΠ 1884 Marshall's Tennis Cuts 141 From first to last Owen à Biscoe simply cantered away (to use a turf phrase) from his antagonist. turf-racing n. ΚΠ 1828 Sporting Mag. 22 235 His happiness was road-racing, as it is now turf-racing. turf-writer n. ΚΠ 1865 Daily Tel. 1 Nov. 5/1 ‘Warning off’ intruders, whether defaulting betters, or turf-writers whose criticisms were displeasing. C2. Objective and objective genitive. a. turf-digger n. ΚΠ 1851 G. A. Mantell Petrifactions iii. §5. 308 A spade used by turf diggers. turf-getter n. ΚΠ 1753 Philos. Trans. 1751–2 (Royal Soc.) 47 221 I..have made all possible inquiry from the shepherds, turf-getters, &c. turf-graver n. ΚΠ 1483 Cath. Angl. 397/1 A Turfe grauer, glebarius, turbarius. 1905 Eng. Dial. Dict. VI. 268/1 We cut turves wiv a turf-greeaver. turf-worker n. b. turf-boring adj. ΚΠ 1816 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1818) II. xxiii. 368 The common turf-boring crane-fly (T[ipula] oleracea, L.)..moves over the grass with her body in a vertical position. turf-cutting adj. ΚΠ 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 154 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Turf-cutting field. 1882 F. Pollock in Macmillan's Mag. 46 362 It is subject..to rights of turf-cutting. turf-forming adj. ΚΠ 1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. vi. 301 Its meadows are clothed with turf-forming grasses. turf-getting adj. ΚΠ 1884 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester (1886) at Turf Turf-getting is a peculiar industry carried on at most of the larger peat bogs, and notably at Lindow Common near Wilmslow. turf-graving adj. ΚΠ 1411 Rolls of Parl. III. 650/1 Certein Commune of Pasture, and Turf-gravyng, the whiche the said Lord the Roos claymes. C3. Instrumental. turf-bound adj. ΚΠ 1787 G. Winter New Syst. Husbandry 219 Harrowing loosens the hardened, turf-bound soil. turf-built adj. ΚΠ a1748 J. Warton Ode to Fancy 5 My footsteps to thy temple guide, To offer at thy turf-built shrine. 1803 J. Leyden Scenes of Infancy iii. 364 On Yeta's banks the vagrant gypsies place Their turf-built cots; a sun-burnt swarthy race. turf-clad adj. ΚΠ 1782 V. Knox Ess. II. xciii. 45 The turf-clad heap of mould which covers the poor man's grave. turf-coloured adj. ΚΠ 1916 J. Joyce Portrait of Artist i. 58 He had skin the same colour as the turf-coloured bogwater in the..bath. turf-covered adj. ΚΠ 1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Turf-covered. 1898 F. Davis Romano-Brit. City of Silchester 21 Over the turf-covered area, denudation is not inoperative. turf-grown adj. ΚΠ 1867 J. G. Whittier Tent on Beach 10 Above..turf-grown wall They saw the fort flag rise and fall. 1893 W. Pater Wks. (1901) VIII. 147 They went through the endless, lonely, turf-grown tracts. turf-laid adj. ΚΠ 1806 J. Grahame Birds Scotl. 141 Still shall the turf-laid seat invite Thy weary limbs. turf-like adj. ΚΠ 1840 C. J. Lever Charles O'Malley xxx, in Dublin Univ. Mag. Sept. 348/1 A brown,..scruffy, turf-like face. turf-roofed adj. ΚΠ 1844 I. Williams Baptistery II. iv. 138 With each her Saviour deigns to dwell E'en in the turf-roof'd cell. turf-spread adj. turf-theekit adj. (Scottish, = thatched). ΚΠ 1881 in D. H. Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets 3rd Ser. 75 Thy turf-theekit roof. C4. Special combinations: turf accountant n. a bookmaker in horse racing. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > [noun] > book-making > book-maker commission agent1798 flash-man1812 bookmaker1833 commissioner1851 ring man1857 metallician1861 street bookmaker1867 bookie1877 book1881 knight of the pencil1885 handbook man1894 street bookie1911 turf accountant1915 listman1922 1915 Scots Pictorial 27 Mar. p. iv The time when the standing and stability of all turf accountants are put to the test. turf-ant n. a small yellow European ant ( Formica flava, or Lasius flavus), living in dry heathy turf. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > member of genus Lasias turf-ant1816 meadow ant1879 the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > family Formicidae or genus Formica > formica flava (turf-ant) turf-ant1816 1816 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. (1818) II. 94 The little turf-ants (F[ormica] cæspitum, L.) carry their recruits uncoiled. turf-boy n. (see quots.). ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > workers with other materials > [noun] > with peat or turf turverc1440 graver1483 turf-cutter1819 turf-boy1905 1905 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 58 There was the turf boy whose duty it was to fill the turf-boxes. 1906 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ Some Irish Yesterdays 71 In those days the turf-boy was an institution... All day they plied bare-foot between the turf-house and the various fuel-depôts of the house with baskets. turf-cake n. a teacake baked in a covered pan among the ashes of a peat-fire. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > cake baked in ashes easle-cakec1440 shanty-cake1848 turf-cake1863 1863 E. C. Gaskell Sylvia's Lovers I. iv. 63 Neither cream nor finest wheaten flour was wanting for ‘turf-cakes’ and ‘singing-hinnies’. turf-cutter n. one who is employed in cutting or digging peat; also, a turf-spade; also, a paring-plough or turf-plough. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > ploughing equipment > [noun] > plough > other types of plough ox-plough?1523 double plough1653 chip plough1742 Rotherham plough1743 fluke plough1775 breaking plough1781 miner1794 snap-plough1798 turf-cutter1819 scooter plough1820 bull-tongue1831 prairie plough1831 split-plough1840 prairie breaker1857 straddle-plough1875 tickle-plough1875 chill-plough1886 stump-jump1896 swamp plough1930 prairie buster1943 society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > workers with other materials > [noun] > with peat or turf turverc1440 graver1483 turf-cutter1819 turf-boy1905 1819 W. Cobbett Year's Resid. U.S.A. ii. iv. 167 The surface of the land is taken off to a depth of two or three inches... In England, this operation is performed with a turf-cutter, and by hand. 1844 in Whitelaw Bk. Scot. Song (1875) 228 I promised to rove With the turf-cutter's daughter. 1861 G. H. Kingsley in F. Galton Vacation Tourists & Trav. 1860 164 The turf-cutter left her divots unturned. turf-drain n. a drain in which the channel is covered by turves placed over it; a sod-drain. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > covered wholve1395 whelmc1576 turf-drain1805 barrel-drain1823 tunnel1828 turf-draining1831 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. Pl. xlviii. 332 Fig. 1. Represents a shouldered turf-drain. turf-draining n. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > covered wholve1395 whelmc1576 turf-drain1805 barrel-drain1823 tunnel1828 turf-draining1831 1831 J. Morton Gloucestershire Vale-farm 26 in Farm-rep. Turf-draining answers well, where the turf is strong enough to bear ramming. † turf-graft n. [graft n.³] Obsolete the right to dig turf for fuel; also, a place where turf is dug, a turbary. ΘΚΠ society > law > legal right > rights to do or use something > [noun] > right to cut peat turf-graft1313 turbary1567 turvary1651 turfery1769 the world > the earth > land > landscape > marsh, bog, or swamp > [noun] > peat-bog turf-graft1313 turbary1363 peat mire1431 peat moss1505 peatbog1550 flow-mossc1565 cess1636 peat marsh1723 yarpha1805 peat moor1821 flow bog1831 raised bog1891 mire1946 raised mire1968 1313 Yorkshire Deeds (Yorks. Archaeol. Soc.) II. 18 [His common of pasture with] le turff graft [from either moor]. 1483 Cath. Angl. 396/2 Turfe grafte, turbarium. 1773 Holme-on-Sp. Moor Inclos. Act 2 Which privilege of selling turves is called Turf-Graft. turf-hog n. see quot. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > order Artiodactyla (cloven-hoofed animals) > pig > [noun] swineOE hogOE grice?c1225 pig?a1425 pork?a1425 grunterc1440 gussie15.. grunting-cheat1567 snorter1601 sow's-baby1699 grumphie1786 piggy-wig1870 turf-hog1880 troughster1892 1880 W. B. Dawkins Early Man in Brit. viii. 261 The third group consists of the short-horned ox, the turf-hog, and the goat, which escaped from the servitude of man and reverted to a wild state. turf-knife n. a cutting blade set upright in a curved handle, which is pushed along to mark out turves, lines of ditches, etc. (Ogilvie, 1882). ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for marking out work > [noun] > sharp > for marking turf scoring-knife1725 turf-knife1841 1841 H. D. Thoreau Jrnl. 20 Apr. (1981) I. 302 The ditching spade and turf knife, may be engravd on the coat of arms of his posterity. turf-line n. a line formed from turf; spec. in an archæological excavation, a layer of soil representing former grassland. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > soil mark turf-line1935 soil mark1939 the world > the earth > land > landscape > fertile land or place > land with vegetation > [noun] > grassland > types of links1487 sward1513 machair1692 scurf1708 sweet-veld1785 stone-turf1797 sour veld1801 undergrass1838 bent-land1883 undersward1883 turf-line1935 1935 E. H. W. Meyerstein in Kent Messenger 23 Mar. 16/5 One joy..To take the turf-line of the Pilgrim Road. 1936 Proc. Prehistoric Soc. 2 214 Well marked turf lines isolated these ditches from the Iron Age above them. 1957 V. G. Childe Dawn European Civilization (ed. 6) i. 3 Fossil turf-lines of Atlantic age. 1975 J. G. Evans Environment Early Man Brit. Isles vi. 119 At the surface of the buried soil is a thin stone-free horizon or turf line... This is caused by earthworm sorting. turf-man n. a devotee of the turf, a racing man. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > people involved in horse racing > [noun] > devotee turf-man1818 turfite1836 railbird1891 1818 Sporting Mag. 2 214 I never was a turfman, and am only a spectator. 1881 Scribner's Monthly 22 642 The form which turfmen love to see in a horse which they have backed heavily. † turf-penny n. Obsolete a rent or due paid for turbary. ΚΠ 1282 Inquisitions Post Mortem Edw. I (P.R.O.) File 31. m. 3 Coterii et bondi reddunt per annum de consuetudine que vocatur Turfpeny et grundpeni xlviij s. x d. turf-plough n. a plough for paring off the surface to destroy weeds and grubs preparatory to deep ploughing (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. (1877). turf-spade n. a spade for cutting turf or peats; also, a turfing-iron. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > turf- or peat-cutter turf-spade1477 peat-spade1492 turfing-spade1677 slane1745 becket1764 rutter1778 turskill1812 turfing-iron1852 1477–8 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 95 Pro j Turfspade, 8d. 1824 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Gardening (ed. 2) 2101 The turf-spade or turfing iron is employed to separate the individual turves. 1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. Turf-spade, turf-spit, the implement or tool used in graving Turves,..a triangular cutting instrument with one upright side, to sever the Turf sideways as well as from the subsoil. turf-spanker n. name for a kind of croquet mallet: see quot. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > croquet > [noun] > mallet mallet1611 turf-spanker1874 1874 J. D. Heath Compl. Croquet-player 25 The bottom of the cylindrical head..is sliced off, so that the part of the mallet that rests on the ground is quite flat. This ‘turf-spanker’..met with some opposition at first. turf-stick n. a stick from a turbary or peatbog. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [noun] > stick, twig, or rod > from specific tree or place hazela1613 turf-stick1843 tea-stick1865 1843 Florist's Jrnl. (1846) 4 86 A mixture of loam and peat, with all the turf-sticks, etc. contained in it, should be well chopped with the spade and mixed with some rich garden mould. turf-tie n. see tye n.¹ ΚΠ 1912 Daily News 28 Feb. 4 Every Dartmoor farmer has his turf-tie lying somewhere near his farm in a hollow between the tors. turf-time n. the season for digging turf, usually between hay-time and harvest. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > [noun] > time of year > season for specific agricultural operation seedOE seed timeOE season1393 barley-selec1440 seednessc1450 seeding timea1594 turf-time1594 tid1799 1594 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 90 He is to be hired for haytyme, turvetyme and harvest. turf-worm n. the sod-worm (sod-worm n. at sod n.¹ Compounds 2). Draft additions March 2003 turf war n. (a) Sport a dispute regarding horse racing, or between organizations involved in the business of horse racing; (also) a horse race; (b) colloquial (chiefly North American), a dispute over territory; frequently in extended use. ΚΠ 1897 N.Y. Times 26 July 3/4 Unless either the Queens County Jockey Club or the Metropolitan Turf Association gives in to the terms offered by the other..a lively turf war will be waged. 1969 N.Y. Times 2 Nov. s9/1 Ring, a Washington sportsman who returned to the turf wars a little over two years ago... bought Czar Alexander as a 2-year-old for $32,000. 1979 Science 204 1060 (heading) Jump in funding feeds research on nutrition. But the dollars also fuel a departmental turf war that threatens to sap the field of its newfound nourishment. 2001 Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) 18 May 6/2 Lemmer has been offered an insight into why the Cape Town police have been unable to stop the gang turf wars that have claimed more than 100 lives since the start of the year. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † turfn.² Forms: Middle English–1500s tyrf(e, turfe, turff(e; plural 1500s turves: see also tarf n., tarve n. Etymology: < root of tirve v.² to turn, roll back. The turn-over, turn-up, or facing of a cap, hood, sleeve, etc.; a cock (of a cap, etc.). Also attributive. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > turn-up reversa1382 tirvingc1400 turfc1440 turn-up1688 turnback1843 reverse1859 upturn1923 c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 494/2 Tyrf, or tyrvynge vp on an hoode or sleue (K. tyrfe or turnynge vp aȝen, S. tyrwynge of an hoode, A. tyrvyng of an hood, etc., P. tyrfte or turnynge vp agayne), resolucio (H., S. revolucio). 1522 in Archaeologia 25 460 Item..for a black bonett w^t a dobill turffe y^t was dressyd w^t velvett vj s. viij d. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 281/2 Tyrfe of a cappe or suche lyke, rebras. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 284/1 Turfe. 1546–7 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 6 For making of one doble turff Cappe of vellett. 1547 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 10 xij hedpeces to the same Rounde of clothe of Syluer the Turffes of Crymsin Tilsent bownde with yolowe Satten. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccxxxv Euery man..garnyshed their bassenetes with turues lyke cappes of sylke. 1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 1573/2 Euery man..garnished theyr Bassenets with turues, lyke cappes of silke. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2021). turfv. Forms: Also Middle English–1600s turve. Etymology: < turf n.¹ 1. a. transitive. To cover with turf; to lay with turf. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > cultivation of specific crops > [verb (transitive)] > crop with grass or hay turfc1430 sod1652 hay1708 meadow1768 to throw down1778 verd1778 grass1795 returf1824 stock1828 c1430 J. Lydgate Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 181 Alle the aleis were made playne with sond, The benches turued with newe turvis grene. 1598 Floure & Leafe in T. Speght Wks. G. Chaucer f. 366/1 A pleasaunt herber..That benched was and with turfes new Freshly turued. 1644 G. Plattes in S. Hartlib Legacy (1655) 187 Barley..had cover'd the ground so full, that it was as if it were even turfed with the Corn. 1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. i. 74 After you have new turfed the banks. 1882 C. F. Woolson Anne 118 Graves are made and turfed over. b. transferred. To place or lay under the turf; to cover with turf, or as turf does; to bury; also intransitive with it, to die and be buried. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > bury or entomb [verb (transitive)] bedelveOE begraveOE burya1000 beburyc1000 bifel-ec1000 layc1000 to fall, lull, lay (bring obs.) asleepOE tombc1275 gravec1300 inter1303 rekec1330 to lap in leadc1340 to lay to rest, abed, to bed1340 lie1387 to louk in clay (lead, etc.)?a1400 to lay lowa1425 earthc1450 sepulture1490 to put awaya1500 tyrea1500 mould1530 to graith in the grave1535 ingrave1535 intumulate1535 sepult1544 intumil?c1550 yird1562 shrinea1566 infera1575 entomb1576 sepelite1577 shroud1577 funeral1578 to load with earth1578 delve1587 to lay up1591 sepulchrize1595 pit-hole1607 infuneral1610 mool1610 inhumate1612 inurna1616 inhume1616 pit1621 tumulate1623 sepulchrea1626 turf1628 underlay1639 urna1657 to lay to sleep, asleep1701 envaulta1745 plant1785 ensepulchre1820 sheugh1839 to put under1879 to lay away1885 the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > cover [verb (transitive)] > cover over or up > under the ground or bury delvec1175 indelve1382 mine?1440 dig1530 bury1535 inter1601 inhume1626 turf1628 earthen1708 inearth1801 the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)] forsweltc888 sweltc888 adeadeOE deadc950 wendeOE i-wite971 starveOE witea1000 forfereOE forthfareOE forworthc1000 to go (also depart , pass, i-wite, chare) out of this worldOE queleOE fallOE to take (also nim, underfo) (the) deathOE to shed (one's own) blood?a1100 diec1135 endc1175 farec1175 to give up the ghostc1175 letc1200 aswelta1250 leavea1250 to-sweltc1275 to-worthc1275 to yield (up) the ghost (soul, breath, life, spirit)c1290 finea1300 spilla1300 part?1316 to leese one's life-daysa1325 to nim the way of deathc1325 to tine, leave, lose the sweatc1330 flit1340 trance1340 determinec1374 disperisha1382 to go the way of all the eartha1382 to be gathered to one's fathers1382 miscarryc1387 shut1390 goa1393 to die upa1400 expirea1400 fleea1400 to pass awaya1400 to seek out of lifea1400–50 to sye hethena1400 tinea1400 trespass14.. espirec1430 to end one's days?a1439 decease1439 to go away?a1450 ungoc1450 unlivec1450 to change one's lifea1470 vade1495 depart1501 to pay one's debt to (also the debt of) naturea1513 to decease this world1515 to go over?1520 jet1530 vade1530 to go westa1532 to pick over the perch1532 galpa1535 to die the death1535 to depart to God1548 to go home1561 mort1568 inlaikc1575 shuffle1576 finish1578 to hop (also tip, pitch over, drop off, etc.) the perch1587 relent1587 unbreathe1589 transpass1592 to lose one's breath1596 to make a die (of it)1611 to go offa1616 fail1623 to go out1635 to peak over the percha1641 exita1652 drop1654 to knock offa1657 to kick upa1658 to pay nature her due1657 ghost1666 to march off1693 to die off1697 pike1697 to drop off1699 tip (over) the perch1699 to pass (also go, be called, etc.) to one's reward1703 sink1718 vent1718 to launch into eternity1719 to join the majority1721 demise1727 to pack off1735 to slip one's cable1751 turf1763 to move off1764 to pop off the hooks1764 to hop off1797 to pass on1805 to go to glory1814 sough1816 to hand in one's accounts1817 to slip one's breatha1819 croak1819 to slip one's wind1819 stiffen1820 weed1824 buy1825 to drop short1826 to fall (a) prey (also victim, sacrifice) to1839 to get one's (also the) call1839 to drop (etc.) off the hooks1840 to unreeve one's lifeline1840 to step out1844 to cash, pass or send in one's checks1845 to hand in one's checks1845 to go off the handle1848 to go under1848 succumb1849 to turn one's toes up1851 to peg out1852 walk1858 snuff1864 to go or be up the flume1865 to pass outc1867 to cash in one's chips1870 to go (also pass over) to the majority1883 to cash in1884 to cop it1884 snuff1885 to belly up1886 perch1886 to kick the bucket1889 off1890 to knock over1892 to pass over1897 to stop one1901 to pass in1904 to hand in one's marble1911 the silver cord is loosed1911 pip1913 to cross over1915 conk1917 to check out1921 to kick off1921 to pack up1925 to step off1926 to take the ferry1928 peg1931 to meet one's Maker1933 to kiss off1935 to crease it1959 zonk1968 cark1977 to cark it1979 to take a dirt nap1981 1628 [implied in: O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xxv. sig. N Degenerate Man! that hauing so often experimented his Iugling, wilt yet beleeue his fictions, and his turfed Mines. (at turfed adj.²)]. 1763 J. Cowper Let. 9 Jan. in H. P. Stokes Cowper Memorials (1904) 563 That you may not think I have turfed it, to speak in the Newmarket phrase;..I send you this letter. 1844 J. T. J. Hewlett Parsons & Widows II. xxxii. 235 Until the governor was turfed. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Merlin & Vivien 655 in Idylls of King As vast a mound As after furious battle turfs the slain. 1888 G. Meredith Question Whither i You who sadly turf us, Believe not that all living seed Must flower above the surface. 2. To dig up or excavate for turf or peat. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > earth-moving, etc. > [verb (transitive)] > dig (hole, etc.) > dig for peat or turf turf1780 1780 Ingenhousz in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 70 372 Draining a large meer..which was turfed out in former ages. 1878 J. Davidson Inverurie 352 They protected the burgh muir from being indiscriminately turfed. 3. intransitive. To get turf or peat for fuel. dialect. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > other organic fuels > get turf or peat for fuel [verb (intransitive)] turf1876 1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby ‘We're turfing’, getting our turves for a winter supply. 1896 S. Baring-Gould Dartmoor Idylls v. 131 Her wants to take the washing..and the turving out o' my hands. 4. transitive. To throw or kick (a person, etc.) forcibly out (occasionally off); also transferred. colloquial. Without const. (Public School slang), to kick. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the foot > kick smitec1330 frontc1400 punch1449 kick1598 calcitrate1623 bunch1647 pause1673 pote1673 purr1847 boot1877 turf1888 root1890 the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > expel > specific people from a place, position, or possession > forcibly or ignominiously eject1555 rumble1570 obtrude1595 to show (a person) the door1638 to kick downstairs1678 to kick out1697 drum1720 firk1823 to chuck out1869 bounce1877 boot1880 out-kick1883 turf1888 hoof1893 hound1922 1888 R. Kipling Only Subaltern in Under Deodars 97 The Colonel will turf you out of that in double quick time. 1905 H. A. Vachell Hill ii. 32 Sorry I turfed that little ass so hard... [Note] To ‘turf’, i.e. to kick—Harroviana. 1925 P. G. Wodehouse Carry on, Jeeves 90 The old boy turfed me out, Bertie, because he said I was a brainless nincompoop. 1930 J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement viii. 410 She'd bought hundreds of them [sc. magazines]. I've just had them turfed out. 1957 C. MacInnes City of Spades ii. iv. 128 The guv'nor tried turfing them all out at first..but he's given up the struggle. 1976 J. I. M. Stewart Memorial Service iv. 58 These people have become my colleagues. If you use that sort of language about them I'll have to turf you out myself. 1977 ‘O. Jacks’ Autumn Heroes iv. 60 The plane's loaded... I can't turf off passengers. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2021). < n.¹c725n.²c1440v.c1430
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turfn.1

Compounds

Draft additions March 2003

† turfn.2

turfv.

turfn.¹

† turfn.²