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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
: 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
261 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
2 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
field garlic
vsCanada garlic
1 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
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

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.