Definitions

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

  • noun Any of various small spiny trees or shrubs of the genus Prosopis of the pea family, native to hot, dry regions chiefly of the Americas and important as a source of firewood, nectar for honeybees, and forage for cattle. The pods of most species are edible.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun See mesquit.
  • noun See mesquit.

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

  • noun (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.
  • noun See Algaroba (b).
  • noun a smaller tree (Prosopis pubescens), having spiral pods used as fodder and sometimes as food by the Indians.
  • noun 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.

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

  • noun Any of several deciduous trees of the genus Prosopis found in North America, and used as forage, which have long, beige seed/bean pods which may be dried and ground into a sweet, nutty flour.
  • noun The wood of these trees, used for smoking food, or charcoal made from this wood.
  • noun Country or land dominated by mesquite trees.

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

  • noun any of several small spiny trees or shrubs of the genus Prosopis having small flowers in axillary cylindrical spikes followed by large pods rich in sugar

Etymologies

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

[Spanish mezquite, from Nahuatl mizquitl.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Spanish mezquite, mizquite, from Nahuatl mizquitl ("mesquite tree").

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Examples

  • I like to make strips approx 8 long ... dry according to your dryers specs and enjoy ... you can also add or subtract different flavors of liquid smoke to your own personal taste, I like the hickory but mesquite is also good ...

    Do you prefer your home made jerky if so want to share the recipe? or store bought and which one? 2009

  • I like to make strips approx 8 long ... dry according to your dryers specs and enjoy ... you can also add or subtract different flavors of liquid smoke to your own personal taste, I like the hickory but mesquite is also good ...

    Do you prefer your home made jerky if so want to share the recipe? or store bought and which one? 2009

  • A Mexican friend who owns some property in Guanajuato (capital) was just fined for cutting a mesquite tree that was on his property -- in Guanajauto mesquite is something of an endangered species, I guess.

    Rural Mexico 2005

  • A Mexican friend who owns some property in Guanajuato (capital) was just fined for cutting a mesquite tree that was on his property -- in Guanajauto mesquite is something of an endangered species, I guess.

    Rural Mexico 2005

  • If you are referring to my use of mesquite for firewood, I live in a ranching area where mesquite is considered a nuisance weed.

    Page 2 2005

  • A Mexican friend who owns some property in Guanajuato (capital) was just fined for cutting a mesquite tree that was on his property -- in Guanajauto mesquite is something of an endangered species, I guess.

    Rural Mexico 2005

  • If you are referring to my use of mesquite for firewood, I live in a ranching area where mesquite is considered a nuisance weed.

    Page 2 2005

  • A Mexican friend who owns some property in Guanajuato (capital) was just fined for cutting a mesquite tree that was on his property -- in Guanajauto mesquite is something of an endangered species, I guess.

    Rural Mexico 2005

  • A Mexican friend who owns some property in Guanajuato (capital) was just fined for cutting a mesquite tree that was on his property -- in Guanajauto mesquite is something of an endangered species, I guess.

    Rural Mexico 2005

  • A Mexican friend who owns some property in Guanajuato (capital) was just fined for cutting a mesquite tree that was on his property -- in Guanajauto mesquite is something of an endangered species, I guess.

    Rural Mexico 2005

Comments

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  • The deer have come down and the big-horn,

    They have followed the Sun to the south

    To feed on the mesquite pods and the bunch grass.

    Loud are the thunderdrums

    In the tents of the mountains.

    - traditional, 'The Grass On The Mountain', transcribed from the Paiute American Indian by Mary Austin.

    November 12, 2008