Mesquit

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Mesquite \Mes*qui"te\ (m[e^]s*k[=e]"t[asl]), Mesquit \Mes*quit"\
     (m[e^]s*k[=e]t"), n. [Sp. mezquite; said to be a Mexican
     Indian word.] (Bot.)
     Aany of several small spiny trees or shrubs of the
     southwestern part of North America belonging to the genus
     {Prosopis} having small flowers in axillary cylindrical


     spikes followed by large sugar-rich pods, especially the
     {honey mesquite}, and {screw-pod mesquite}.
     [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
  
     {Honey mesquite}. See {Algaroba}
     (b) .
  
     {Screw-pod mesquite}, a smaller tree ({Prosopis pubescens}),
        having spiral pods used as fodder and sometimes as food by
        the Indians.
  
     {Mesquite grass}, a rich native grass in Western Texas
        ({Bouteloua oligostachya}, and other species); -- so
        called from its growing in company with the mesquite tree;
        -- called also {muskit grass}, {grama grass}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  mesquit
       n : any of several small spiny trees or shrubs of the genus
           Prosopis having small flowers in axillary cylindrical
           spikes followed by large sugar-rich pods [syn: {mesquite}]