ˈtripsə̇kəm noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek tripsis rubbing, friction, resistance to rubbing; akin to Greek tribein to rub — more at throw
: a genus of coarse perennial grasses of the southern United States and So. America having androgynous spikes with the 2-flowered staminate spikelets above and the pistillate below with the latter embedded in the joints of the rachis — see gama