noun
hassock
A dense clump of grass or sedge.
A dense hassock of sedge rises above the marsh water.
Etymology
The inherited word names a grass tuft. This botanical sense preserves the dense clump, rather than the cushion whose appearance later invited the same name.
More examples
- She steps from one grassy hassock to another.
- Small insects shelter inside the hassocks along the stream.
- A single hassock of grass grows beside the muddy trail.
Forms
hassock · hassocks
Similar words
- tussock
- A close equivalent for a dense, raised grass clump.
- tuft
- A small bunch of grass, not necessarily dense.