prairie
UK[ˈpreəri]US[ˈpreri]
n
a wide, flat area of land in north america that is covered in grass and has few trees
Etymology
the word 'prairie' entered english in the late 17th century from the french word 'praerie', which itself derived from the old french 'praierie', meaning a meadow or grassland. this old french term is based on the latin word 'pratum', meaning a meadow. when french explorers and settlers encountered the vast, treeless grasslands of north america, they applied their term for meadow to this new and expansive landscape. the english language subsequently adopted this specific term to denote the unique ecosystems of the american interior, shifting its reference from a general meadow to a specific geographical feature.
Analysis
the word is a loanword from french and is not productively segmented into smaller, meaningful morphemes in english.
Examples
the vast prairie stretched to the horizon, a sea of grass under the big sky.
bison once roamed the great plains in massive herds that shaped the prairie ecosystem.
they built their farmhouse on the open prairie, where the wind blew constantly.