Hayland

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Land cultivated and used for the production and harvesting of hay as animal feed
2. Ground devoted to growing grass or other plants that are cut and dried for use as livestock fodder
3. A field or area of land managed primarily for the cultivation and cutting of hay

Etymology: Hayland is a plain compound: "hay" joined to "land", meaning land used for growing or cutting hay. Both parts are old English words, so the term needs no borrowing from another language to explain it. The sense is literal throughout, describing ground that is mown for fodder rather than grazed or ploughed. Because the parts are so transparent, the word reads almost like a description instead of a coined term. Its meaning depends on the older farming practice it names: meadows were prized for the grass they yielded for winter feed, and a field set aside for that purpose needed a name of its own.

Synonyms: meadow, pasture, grassland