Meanings
nounbluestem (usually uncountable, plural bluestems)
plural bluestems
- USuncountableusuallyAny of various grasses having bluish stems, including little bluestem and big bluestem, principally in tribe Andropogoneae.First known use 19th c.
Then we were going at a lope with the bluestem whipping our legs.
2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 30
Synonyms & antonyms
nountall grass with smooth bluish leaf sheaths grown for hay in the United States
Similar
blue stemAndropogon furcatusAndropogon gerardii
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰleh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰleh₁wos
- Proto-Germanic*blēwaz
- Proto-West Germanic*blā
- Late Latinblāvus
- Anglo-Normanble
- Middle Englishblew
- Englishblue
- Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*stéh₂mn̥
- Proto-Indo-European*sth₂mnís
- Proto-Germanic*stamniz
- Proto-West Germanic*stamni
- Old Englishstemn
- Middle Englishstemme
- Englishstem
- Englishbluestem
Cite this entry
APA
bluestem. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bluestem
MLA
“bluestem.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bluestem. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bluestem,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bluestem.
Source: bluestem on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.