Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A grass, Ammophila arundinacea (Psamma arenaria): so called from its use in making mats. Also called sea-mat-weed, halm, and marram.
  • noun Less properly— Spartina stricta, seaside-grass.
  • noun Nardus stricta, small matweed (see mat-grass)
  • noun Lygeum Spartum, hooded matweed.

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

  • noun (Bot.) A name of several maritime grasses, as the sea sand-reed (Ammophila arundinacea) which is used in Holland to bind the sand of the seacoast dikes (see Beach grass, under beach); also, the Lygeum Spartum, a Mediterranean grass of similar habit.

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

  • noun botany Any of several maritime grasses.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

mat +‎ weed

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Examples

  • The next day I looked over my load of matweed, having given it that name, and separated the different lengths from each other.

    Life And Adventures Of Peter Wilkins, Vol. I. (of II.) Robert Paltock 1732

  • These I carried to the wood, and tried them in several places to see where they might be disposed to most advantage in the nature of a tent, and having found a convenient spot to my purpose, I cut divers poles for supporters, and making straining lines of my matweed, I pitched a noble one, sufficient to cover or entertain a numerous company, and so tight everywhere as to keep out the weather.

    Life And Adventures Of Peter Wilkins, Vol. I. (of II.) Robert Paltock 1732

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