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prêle
[< Cdn F < F l'aprêle < Ital. asperella, dim., ult. < L asper rough]
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
See 1897 quote.
Quotations
1813
[There were] sand-banks on which grow coarse grass, prêle. . . .
1859
Leaving the horses to feed on a fine meadow of the "Prele" or goose grass . . . I started to explore the valley. . . .
1897
Goosegrass is properly Polygonum aviculare and other species of the same genus, but what Henry means is the equisetaceous plant known to the voyageurs as prele, a name he uses beyond for horsetails of the genus Equisetum.
1925
[The] Horse-tail, or, as it is called by the French-Canadians, "Prele," used to be considered excellent horse-feed, and when possible the Hudson's Bay Company's brigades were halted where it was abundant.