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Glite Dictionary
Brompton stock

Brompton stock

9.9
A garden plant with sweet-smelling flowers that makes places look nice
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : brompton
  • She planted rows of Brompton stock along the path to brighten her spring garden.

Examples

  • The Brompton stock filled the garden with its delightful fragrance each evening.

  • Many gardeners favor Brompton stock for its vibrant blooms and sweet scent.

  • I bought some Brompton stock for my garden.

  • The Brompton stocks bloom beautifully in spring.

  • Many gardeners favor Brompton stock for its vibrant blooms and sweet scent.

  • She planted rows of Brompton stock along the path to brighten her spring garden.

  • The Brompton stock filled the garden with its delightful fragrance each evening.

Synonyms

Matthiola incana
vsBrompton stock
  • Specialized
9.9

A European garden plant called stock with spikes of sweet-smelling flowers

is the same plant but called by a specific ornamental name
Matthiola
vsBrompton stock
  • Specialized
9.9

A garden plant with fragrant, often colorful flowers

is narrower meaning one European species rather than the whole genus

Surface Forms

Brompton stock singular
Brompton stocks plural

Morphology

Brompton + stock

‘Stock’ is a garden flower and ‘Brompton’ functions as a proper name/variety label, so the phrase denotes a particular kind or cultivar of stock. A B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer it is a type of stock (flower) named ‘Brompton’, so the meaning is compositional rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

Brompton stock likely got its name from Brompton, where gardeners first grew a fragrant kind of stock flower, and stock was an old name for these many-stemmed garden plants. Think of rows of sweet-smelling blooms in a Brompton garden — that's why the name now means a 'sweet-scented' garden plant.