Humus is the dark rich matter in soil made of rotted plants. Rich in humus, build up the humus, a humus layer.
It is what makes soil hold water and feed plants, and it takes years to build and moments to plough away. It is not the same word as hummus, the chickpea dish, though the spelling misleads constantly.
1nounhumusThe dark rich matter in soil made of rotted plants.
“Dig plenty of humus into the vegetable bed so the soil stays dark and rich.”
humus is a matter.
Latin humus means the ground or earth, and is a relative of human, from the idea of an earthly creature.
Latin
humus
English, today
humus
Borrowed from Latin humus.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA