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Glite Dictionary
Canada garlic

Canada garlic

7.7
A wild onion with a strong garlic smell that grows in fields and woods
  • noun
  • /ˈkænəˌdə ˈɡɑrlɪk/
  • US
translation icon : ajo canadiense
  • The bulbs of Canada garlic have a pungent flavor similar to cultivated garlic.

Examples

  • You can often find Canada garlic growing in meadows and along woodland edges.

  • Native Americans once used Canada garlic as both food and medicine.

  • I love using Canada garlic in my recipes.

  • Have you ever tried Canada garlic?

  • Native Americans once used Canada garlic as both food and medicine.

  • The bulbs of Canada garlic have a pungent flavor similar to cultivated garlic.

  • You can often find Canada garlic growing in meadows and along woodland edges.

Synonyms

garlic
vsCanada garlic
244 1.0

A plant with a strong smell and taste whose bulb people use in cooking and sometimes for medicine

is a wild North American onion with bulbs and umbels rather than cloves
wild garlic
vsCanada garlic
1 3.0

A strong-smelling plant with broad leaves that grows in woods and people use in cooking

is the North American wild onion with bulbous roots and umbels
wood garlic
vsCanada garlic
  • UK
7.2

A wild plant with broad leaves that smell like garlic and grows in damp woods

is the North American wild onion with bulbous roots and umbels
field garlic
vsCanada garlic
6.1

A wild plant with a strong onion taste that grows in fields

is the North American wild onion with bulbous roots and umbels

Surface Forms

Canada garlic singular
Canada garlics plural

Morphology

Canada + garlic

The phrase is a straightforward geographic modifier + noun (Canada + garlic), so a B1 learner who knows both words will infer it refers to a garlic (or garlic-like) plant associated with Canada. While the exact botanical identity (Allium canadense, a wild onion) is specialized vocabulary, the basic referential meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

The name Canada garlic comes from people noticing a wild North American plant that smelled and tasted like strong garlic. People used its bulbs as food and medicine, so the name links the place ('Canada') and the garlic-like taste and today tells you it is a 'wild onion' with a strong garlic flavor.