Rushlike

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having the appearance or slender, pithy, grass-like form of a rush plant
2. Looking like the thin, hollow stems of marsh rushes growing in wet ground
3. Resembling the slender reedy growth of rushes, often found in damp meadows

Etymology: "Rushlike" is a plain compound: the noun "rush", the name of the soft, grass-like marsh plant with hollow or pithy stems, joined to the suffix "-like", meaning "resembling or having the form of". The result describes anything that looks or feels like those plants, such as slender, pliant, grass-green stems or a thin, cylindrical, flexible texture. The noun "rush" is older than the suffix's use here, and the compound is transparent: a reader who knows the plant can work out the meaning without a dictionary. Its use is confined mostly to botanical and descriptive writing, where a precise comparison to the plant is wanted.

Synonyms: rushy