pasture
UK[ˈpɑːstʃə(r)]US[ˈpæstʃər]
n
land covered with grass and other low plants suitable for grazing animals, especially cattle or sheep.
v
to put animals to graze in a pasture.
Morpheme Breakdown
past
ure
past
feed
ure
noun suffix
Etymology
the word "pasture" originates from the latin verb pāscere, meaning "to feed" or "to graze." this verb passed into old french as pasture, which signified both the action of grazing and the land used for it. the latin suffix -ūra, used to form nouns indicating a place or result, was attached to create a term for the location where grazing occurs. thus, the literal construction "a place for feeding" evolved seamlessly into the modern english meaning of grassland for livestock.
Analysis
Structure: past (feed) + ure (noun suffix)
past: from latin pāscere (to feed, to graze), via old french pasture. functions as the core root conveying the sense of feeding or grazing.
ure: from latin -ūra, a suffix forming nouns denoting an action, process, or result. functions as a nominalizer, turning the action into a place or result.
Examples
the cows were led out to the lush pasture at dawn.
we need to rotate the sheep to allow the pasture to recover.
the farmer decided to pasture his horses in the lower field.