Buddha's hand
- noun
- /ˈbʊdəz hænd/
:
mano de Buda
- Chefs sometimes use thin slices of the Buddha's hand as a garnish for desserts or salads.
Examples
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The Buddha's hand is often used to perfume rooms because of its strong citrus fragrance.
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You can find Buddha's hand in specialty markets, especially during the winter season.
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I bought a Buddha's hand at the farmer's market.
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Have you ever tasted a Buddha's hand?
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Chefs sometimes use thin slices of the Buddha's hand as a garnish for desserts or salads.
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The Buddha's hand is often used to perfume rooms because of its strong citrus fragrance.
-
You can find Buddha's hand in specialty markets, especially during the winter season.
How Juicy
Surface Forms
Morphology
Buddha's + hand
The element 'hand' signals a hand-like, fingered shape, so a learner could guess something shaped like a hand; however, 'Buddha's' is a cultural/proper-name modifier that does not indicate a fruit or citrus category. Knowing the words alone would not reliably lead a B1 learner to infer 'a lemon-like citrus fruit with finger-like segments' without prior exposure or cultural knowledge, so the expression is only partially predictable.
Etymology
Buddha's hand comes from the fruit's shape: long, finger-like parts that look like a hand and reminded people of the hands on Buddha statues. Because it smells strongly of lemon and has little juice, the name now means 'a fragrant, hand-shaped citrus fruit'.