Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A protective covering, usually of organic matter such as leaves, straw, or peat, placed around plants to prevent the evaporation of moisture, the freezing of roots, and the growth of weeds.
  • transitive verb To cover or surround with mulch.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • See mulsh.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To cover or dress with mulch.
  • noun Half-rotten straw, or any similar light, porous, organic substance strewn on the ground, as over the roots of plants, to protect from heat, drought, etc., and to hinder weed growth and preserve moisture.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable, agriculture Shredded vegetable (or occasionally mineral) matter used to cover the top layer of soil to protect, insulate, or decorate it, or to discourage weeds or retain moisture.
  • noun countable, agriculture A material used as mulch, as a decorative redwood bark mulch.
  • verb agriculture To apply mulch.
  • verb agriculture To turn into mulch.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb cover with mulch
  • noun a protective covering of rotting vegetable matter spread to reduce evaporation and soil erosion

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably from Middle English melsche, molsh, soft, from Old English melsc, mellow, mild; see mel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Probably from Middle English melsche, molsh ("soft"), from Old English melsc, milisc ("mellow, mild").

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  • Citation on willowherb.

    June 22, 2008