American frogbit
- noun
- /əˈmɛrɪkən ˈfrɔɡbɪt/
- US
:
planta acuática americana
- The leaves of American frogbit float on the surface, providing shelter for small aquatic animals.
Examples
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Many ponds in the region are covered with American frogbit during the summer.
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The American frogbit is often found in shallow waters.
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He studied how American frogbit adapts to varying water depths.
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Many ponds in North America are home to American frogbit.
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Many ponds in the region are covered with American frogbit during the summer.
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The leaves of American frogbit float on the surface, providing shelter for small aquatic animals.
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The American frogbit is often found in shallow waters.
Synonyms
An American water plant with heart- or kidney-shaped leaves that grows in muddy pond and ditch bottoms
A floating water plant that grows in fresh water in the Americas
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'American' specifies geographic origin and 'frogbit' names the aquatic plant, so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a frogbit species from the Americas. This adjective+noun composition is a common, transparent pattern cross-linguistically and requires no idiomatic knowledge.
Etymology
American frogbit gets its name from the picture of tiny, round leaves that float like a small bit of land where frogs might sit. The word American simply shows this 'small floating plant' comes from North America, so the name means a little water plant native to America.
