From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtussocktus‧sock /ˈtʌsək/ noun [countable] literary DNa small thick mass of grass
Examples from the Corpus
tussock• Beside a tussock of grass a little way outside the opposite copse, a rabbit was sitting and gazing at them.• Low structure and tussock shape, which gives protection from drying winds, e.g. heather, bilberry.• But smaller creatures can find shelter enough in the unlikely setting of a scruffy grass tussock.• Then, from between two great tussocks of hair-grass came Fiver, his eyes blazing with a frantic urgency.• The insect population of a single large tussock has been estimated at more than 1,000 individuals.• He swung his alpenstock vigorously, teeing off tussocks of grass.• Wigeon A lone pair of gad wall preened on shrinking tussocks.• Here in the open grass he broke into a headlong run, lurching and recovering as the tussocks turned under him.Origin tussock (1500-1600) Perhaps from tusk “small bunch of grass, hair, etc.” ((16-19 centuries)) 