compost

The decayed remains of organic matter that has rotted into a natural fertilizer.

Noun

The decayed remains of organic matter that has rotted into a natural fertilizer.
- Dig plenty of compost into clay or sandy soil to improve its structure.
- And do not spread the compost on the weeds / To make them ranker. - c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, &...
- [T]he very wet winter will have washed much of the goodness out of the soil. Homemade compost and the load of manure we get from a friendly farmer may not be enough to compensate for what has leached from the ground. -...
A medium in which one can cultivate plants.
- Once the seed tray is filled with compost, insert the seeds spaced 3 cm apart from one another.
- [T]he term 'compost' is commonly used to mean the material used to fill pots, seed trays and containers. - Royal Horticultural Society, Organic matter: what is it?, retrieved 29 Mar 2021:
A mixture; a compound.
- A sad compost of more bitter than sweet. - a. 1660, Henry Hammond, God's Complaint Against Revolters:

Origin

From Middle English compost, from Old Northern French compost (“a mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land, also a condiment”), from Latin compositus (“composed”), from componere. Doublet of compote, which was taken from modern French, composite, and kompot.