sedge

Etymology 1

From Middle English segge, from Old English seċġ, from Proto-West Germanic *sagi, from Proto-Germanic *sagjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *sak- (“marsh plant”). Cognate with Dutch zegge and German Segge, dialectal German Saher (“reeds”).

noun

1. Any plant of the genus Carex, the true sedge, perennial, endogenous herbs, often growing in dense tufts in marshy places. They have triangular jointless stems, a spiked inflorescence, and long grasslike leaves which are usually rough on the margins and midrib. There are several hundred species.
2. Any plant of the family Cyperaceae.
3. Any of certain other plants resembling sedges, such as Gentiana rubricaulis and Andropogon virginicus.

Etymology 2

By contraction from sedge fly.

noun

1. (fishing) A dry fly used in fly fishing, designed to resemble a sedge or caddis fly.

Etymology 3

Variant spellings.

noun

1. Obsolete spelling of siege
2. A flock of herons, cranes, or bitterns.