machair

/ ˈmæxər /

noun

1. (in the western Highlands of Scotland) a strip of sandy, grassy, often lime-rich land just above the high-water mark at a sandy shore: used as grazing or arable land

Word History and Origins

Origin of machair¹

C17: from Scottish Gaelic

Example Sentences

Mrs MacSween lost the ring while gathering potatoes on Liniclate Machair, an area of sandy coastal meadow in the late 1960s.

From BBC

Rising sea levels and powerful storms are eroding the dunes and machair land that protects many low-lying communities.

From BBC

The machair, the great grass carpet that covers almost everything, has cowslips, primroses and wild hyacinths pushing up at the spring sun.

From The Guardian

“We have a rare example of habitat enhanced by human intervention,” said Stewart Angus, an ecologist with Scottish Natural Heritage and machair expert.

From Washington Post

“You have to see the machair,” he said.

From Washington Post