India-rubber plant
- noun
- /ˈɪndiəˌrʌbər plænt/
- Archaic
:
planta de caucho
- In its native habitat, the India-rubber plant can grow into a large tree.
Examples
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The India-rubber plant is a popular choice for people looking to add greenery to their homes.
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She placed her new India-rubber plant near the window where it would get enough sunlight.
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The India-rubber plant thrives in warm climates.
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She bought an India-rubber plant for her living room.
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She placed her new India-rubber plant near the window where it would get enough sunlight.
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The India-rubber plant is a popular choice for people looking to add greenery to their homes.
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In its native habitat, the India-rubber plant can grow into a large tree.
Synonyms
1
3.1
Large tropical tree often kept indoors as a houseplant that can make natural rubber
A large Asian tree with shiny leaves often grown indoors as a houseplant
Large tropical Asian tree with shiny thick leaves often grown indoors and sometimes used to make rubber
A large tropical Asian tree that makes a milky sap used to make things like tyres
A big tropical tree with large shiny leaves grown indoors and once used to make rubber
Surface Forms
Morphology
India-rubber + plant
The phrase is compositionally transparent: a learner who knows 'India'/'India-rubber' and 'plant' can infer this refers to a plant that produces India rubber (i.e. a rubber-producing tree). This follows a straightforward noun-compound pattern (rubber + plant) found across languages, so the meaning is derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
India-rubber plant may come from the tree's sticky sap that people in India used to make 'rubber'. Because the tree was known for that 'rubber', people called it the India-rubber tree, and the name later came to mean the houseplant we keep indoors.