What is "turf"

Turf \Turf\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Turfed; p. pr. & vb. n. Turfing.] To cover with turf or sod; as, to turf a bank, of the border of a terrace.
--A. Tucker.

Turf \Turf\ (t[^u]rf), n.; pl. Turfs, Obs. Turves. [AS. turf; akin to D. turf peat, G. torf, OHG. zurba turf, Sw. & Icel. torf turf, peat, Dan. t["o]rv, Skr. darbha a kind of grass, a tuft of grass. [root]242.]

1. That upper stratum of earth and vegetable mold which is filled with the roots of grass and other small plants, so as to adhere and form a kind of mat; sward; sod.

   At his head a grass-green turf.
   --Shak.

   The Greek historian sets her in the field on a high heap of turves.
   --Milton.

2. Peat, especially when prepared for fuel. See Peat.

3. Race course; horse racing; -- preceded by the. ``We . . . claim the honors of the turf.''
   --Cowper.

   Note: Turf is often used adjectively, or to form compounds which are generally self-explaining; as, turf ashes, turf cutter or turf-cutter, turf pit or turf-pit, turf-built, turf-clad, turf-covered, etc.

   Turf ant (Zo["o]l.), a small European ant ( Formica flava) which makes small ant-hills on heaths and commons.

   Turf drain, a drain made with turf or peat.

   Turf hedge, a hedge or fence formed with turf and plants of different kinds.

   Turf house, a house or shed formed of turf, common in the northern parts of Europe.

   Turf moss a tract of turfy, mossy, or boggy land.

   Turf spade, a spade for cutting and digging turf, longer and narrower than the common spade.

early 15c., "to cover (ground) with turf," from turf (n.). Related: Turfed; turfing.\n

Old English turf, tyrf "slab of soil and grass, sod," also "surface of grassland," from Proto-Germanic *turb- (cognates: Old Norse torf, Danish tørv, Old Frisian turf, Old High German zurba, German Torf), from PIE root *drebh- "to wind, compress" (cognates: Sanskrit darbhah "tuft of grass").\n

\nEspecially "the race course," hence the turf "the profession of racing horses" (1755). French tourbe "turf" is a Germanic loan-word. The Old English plural was identical with the singular, but in Middle English turves sometimes was used. Slang meaning "territory claimed by a gang" is attested from 1953 in Brooklyn, N.Y.; earlier it had a jive talk sense of "the street, the sidewalk" (1930s), which is attested in hobo use from 1899, and before that "the work and venue of a prostitute" (1860). Turf war is recorded from 1962.

n. A layer of earth covered with grass; sod. vb. 1 to create a lawn by laying turfs 2 (context Ultimate Frisbee English) To throw a frisbee well short of its intended target, usually causing it to hit the ground within 10 yards of its release. 3 (context business English) To fire from a job or dismiss from a task. 4 (context business English) To cancel a project or product.

1. n. surface layer of ground containing a matt of grass and grass roots [syn: sod, sward, greensward]

2. the territory claimed by a juvenile gang as its own

3. range of jurisdiction or influence; "a bureaucracy...chiefly concerned with turf...and protecting the retirement system"

4. [also: turves (pl)]

1. v. cover (the ground) with a surface layer of grass or grass roots

2. [also: turves (pl)]

Turf may refer to:

Turf is a five-issue comic book limited series, written by Jonathan Ross, illustrated by Tommy Lee Edwards and published by Image Comics.

Turf is a location based augmented reality massively multiplayer online mobile game developed by Swedish company Andrimon. It was released in September 2010 for Android, and later for iOS. The game was created by Andreas Pantesjö and Simon Sikström.

The game is a combination of King of the Hill and digital orienteering. The goal is to collect points by taking over zones and try to keep them as long as possible in competition with other players. Zones are located all over the world, but with the highest concentration in countries with active competition, as in Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Zones are typically taken by foot or by bicycle, and Turf is by many players used as an exergame. Playing Turf allows for people to find and discover new places. It has also been compared with Ingress and Pokémon Go.

The game is played in rounds that lasts for a month, but there are special events arranged when players gathers in a city to compete. A major event is called a Bonanza.

Turf has more than 150,000 registered players and is free to play. A voluntary fee can be payed to get supporter status, which gives access to additional in-app statistics, but comes with no gameplay benefits. It has been written about the game several times in various newspapers and there have been articles about it in both radio and television. So far, most of them Swedish but there are newspaper articles from Finland and Denmark as well.