[Sp. alfalfa ‘three-leaved grasse, clovers grasse’ (Minsheu), formerly alfalfez, identified by Pedro de Alcalá with Arab. alfaçfaçah ‘the best sort of fodder,’ Freytag.] Spanish name for a variety of Lucerne, in use also in parts of the United States.
1845. Darwin, Voy. Nat., xvi. (1873), 339. The beds of alfarfa, a kind of clover.
1881. W. White, Cameos fr. Silverl., I. One species took possession of an alfalfa field.
1882. Harper’s Mag., April, 690. Hay and its substitutes, alfalfa and lucern, take high rank in the list of crops.
