prairie

An extensive flat or rolling area dominated by grasses, especially the grasslands that once covered much of central North America.

Any small open space in a forest. See the extract.

A meadow; level grassy land: a word frequently used by Hennepin and other French writers in describing the country adjacent to the Mississippi river, and now in common use, designating the level or slightly undulating treeless areas which cover a large part of Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and other States further south.

An extensive tract of level or rolling land, destitute of trees, covered with coarse grass, and usually characterized by a deep, fertile soil. They abound throughout the Mississippi valley, between the Alleghanies and the Rocky mountains.

A meadow or tract of grass; especially, a so called natural meadow.

any American grouse of the genus Tympanuchus, especially Tympanuchus Americanus (formerly Tympanuchus cupido), which inhabits the prairies of the central United States. Applied also to the sharp-tailed grouse.

any plant of the leguminous genus Petalostemon, having small rosy or white flowers in dense terminal heads or spikes. Several species occur in the prairies of the United States.

a coarse composite plant (Silphium terebinthaceum) with large rough leaves and yellow flowers, found in the Western prairies.

a small American rodent (Cynomys Ludovicianus) allied to the marmots. It inhabits the plains west of the Mississippi. The prairie dogs burrow in the ground in large warrens, and have a sharp bark like that of a dog. Called also prairie marmot.

Same as Prairie chicken, above.