Meaning

noun surface layer of ground containing a mat of grass and grass roots

noun the territory claimed by a juvenile gang as its own

noun range of jurisdiction or influence

originFrom Middle English turf, torf, from Old English turf (“turf, sod, soil, piece of grass-covered earth, greensward”), from Proto-West Germanic *turb (“turf, peat”), from Proto-Germanic *turbz (“turf, lawn”), from Proto-Indo-European *derbʰ- (“tuft, grass”). Cognates Cognate with Scots turr, truff (“turf, peat”), Dutch turf (“turf”), Middle Low German torf (“peat, turf”) (whence German Torf and…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0