tussock, n.
(ˈtʌsək)
Forms: 6–7 tussocke, (6 thussocke), 7–9 tussuck, 8– tussock, (9 -ack, -ac, -ick).
[perh. an altered form of tusk n.2 (which is known in 1530), assimilated to diminutives in -ock; but the actual relation of the two forms, as well as their ulterior history, is obscure.]
1. A tuft or bunch of hair. Now rare (cf. sense 3).
| 1550 Latimer Last Serm. bef. Edw. VI (1584) 107 b, If they would keepe it [hair]..as they ought to doe, there should not any such Thussockes nor Tuftes be seene. Ibid., These Thussockes that are layd out now a dayes, there is no mention made in Scriptures, because they were not vsed in scripture tyme. They were not yet come to be so farre out of order, as to lay out suche Thussockes and Tuftes. 1550 Crowley Epigr. 1303 If theyr hayre wyl not take colour, then must they by newe, And laye it oute in tussockis: this thynge is to true. 1893 Crockett Stickit Minister (1894) 10 Bushy tussocks of grey eyebrow. |
2. A tuft, clump, or matted growth, forming a small hillock, of grass, sedge, or the like; formerly also, a tuft or bunch of leaves, thorns, etc.
| 1607 Markham Caval. vi. iv. (1617) 12 If there bee any tussockes of long grasse, rushes, or dead fogge. 1681 Grew Musæum ii. i. ii. 186 The Fruit [Prickle Apple] is remarkable for the several Tussucks or Bunches of Thorns where⁓with it is armed. 1783 C. Bryant Flora Diæt. (1787) 84 It hath a creeping root, from which comes forth a tussuck of long slender leaves. 1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants (1836) 59 A[ira] cæspitosa is common in marsh-meadows, and occasions those excrescences called tussocks or hassocks which interrupt the progress of the scythe. 1883 Century Mag. XXVI. 925 Obliged to pick his way through an unusually soft marsh, springing from tussock to tussock. 1898 Dublin Rev. Jan. 166 Hills..overgrown with prickly plants forming rounded tussocks. |
3. Short for
tussock-moth or
caterpillar: see 5.
| 1819 G. Samouelle Entomol. Compend. 247 Lar[ia] pudibunda (pale tussock)... Lar. fascelina (dark tussock). 1911 G. H. Carpenter in Encycl. Brit. XVI. 472/2 The larvae..are very hairy, and often carry dense tufts on some of their segments; hence the name of ‘tussocks’ frequently applied to them. |
4. Short for
tussock-grass. Also in
pl.| 1832 C. M. Goodridge Voy. South Seas 34 The Johnnys build their nests..among the long grass, generally termed Tussick. 1869 M. A. Barker Station Life N. Zealand iv. (1874) 25 Tussocks, the tall native grass, has the colour and appearance of hay. 1886 Britten & Holland Eng. Plant-n., Tussocks, Agrostis vulgaris, and A. alba.—Glou[cester]. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., as (in sense ‘covered with or consisting of tussock-grass’)
tussock-bog,
tussock ground,
tussock mound;
tussock-caterpillar, the larva of the
tussock-moth;
tussock land Austral. and
N.Z., uncultivated grassland used for sheep-grazing;
tussock-moth, one of various kinds of moth, as those of the genus
Orgyia, the larvæ of which have long tufts of hairs;
tussock-sedge, a species of sedge,
Carex stricta, growing in thick clumps. See also
tussock-grass.
| 1847 Sir J. C. Ross Voy. S. Seas II. 262 A *Tussock-bog (for so a tract of land covered with this grass is called). |
| 1843 J. D. Hooker in Gard. Chron. 4 Mar. 131/1 These heaps, or tussacks, grow generally apart, but within a few feet of one another,..so that, in walking among them, you are quite hidden from view, and the whole *Tussac ground is a perfect labyrinth. |
| 1881 W. Bateman Colonists x. 186 The *tussock land abounds in the Middle Island..Prior to breaking up the tussock land the native grass is first burnt. 1928 ‘Brent of Bin Bin’ Up Country ii. 17 The journey started across tussock land alive with purling streams. 1941 Baker N.Z. Slang v. 41 The tussock lands are a peculiar feature of this country. |
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. xxx. 176 In the larva of *Tussock moths (Laria pudibunda, fascelina, etc.) the hairs are collected into tufts. 1887 Amer. Naturalist XXI. 581 The white-marked tussock-moth, and the fall web-worm are the insects discussed. 1901 Westm. Gaz. 6 Sept. 10/2 The New York city parks have lately been invaded by a great army of caterpillars. The cause of all the trouble is the tussock moth. |
| 1825 Waddell Voy. 57 They differ from the king penguin..in having nests, which are sometimes in the sides of *tussac mounds. |
| 1884 Miller Plant-n., Carex stricta, Greater Tufted Sedge, *Tussock Sedge. |
Hence
ˈtussocked (
-əkt)
a., covered with or formed into tussocks; planted, covered, etc. with tussock-grass;
ˈtussocker (
slang): see
quot.;
ˈtussocky a., abounding in or forming tussocks.
| 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 540 The marshes..are banked, drained, *tussocked, ploughed, and harrowed. 1832 C. M. Goodridge Voy. South Seas 29 Our domicile..comfortable, in comparison to our boat tussicked up. 1892 Times 27 Dec. 10/1 Sunlight filters through..to promote the growth of the tussocked grass. |
| 1889 V. Pyke Wild Will Enderby x. 148 A ‘sun-downer’ or ‘*tussocker’..is..one who loiters about till dusk, and then makes for the nearest station or hut, to beg for shelter and food. |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 920 The grass [is liable]..to become *tussocky, or rise in large tufts. 1863 Spring Lapl. 54 We saw..rough tussocky meadows. 1880 Seebohm Siberia in Europe 180 The tussocky ridges between the little bogs. 1908 Daily Chron. 24 Dec. 1/3 A girl who has..a piece of his tussocky brown hair in a little locket on her breast. |