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''prairie'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260904120411-00-⌔

prairie - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

prairie (plural prairies)

  • An extensive area of relatively flat grassland with few, if any, trees, especially in North America.
    • ✤ It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the other hedge, it was quite easy to fancy it the verge of the prairie with the backwoods close by.1

Etymology

Borrowed from French prairie, from Old French praerie, from Vulgar Latin ﹡prataria, from Latin prātum (“meadow”) + -aria.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈpɹɛə.ɹi/
  • (US) enPR: prârʹē:
    • (without the Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA: /ˈpɹɛəɹi/
    • (Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA: [ˈpɹɛɹi]
    • Audio (US): 🔊
  • (Australia) IPA: /ˈpɹeːɹi/
  • (New Zealand, without the cheer–chair merger) IPA: /ˈpɹeəɹi/
  • (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger) IPA: /ˈpɹiəɹi/
  • (Scotland) IPA: /ˈpɹeɹɪ/, /ˈpɹeɹe/
  • (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA: /ˈpɹɜːɹɪ/
  • Rhymes: -ɛəɹi

Printed 2026-09-04.

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Footnotes

  1. 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC: ↩

Link to original

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