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Glite Dictionary
Medusa's head

Medusa's head

9.9
A wild grass with long, stiff bristles that look like snake hair
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : cabeza de Medusa
  • The farmer pulled up a clump of Medusa's head that was invading his field.

Examples

  • Experts warn that Medusa's head can spread rapidly and outcompete native grasses.

  • Grazing animals tend to avoid Medusa's head because of its tough, bristly texture.

  • The garden was filled with Medusa's head grass.

  • Many farmers dislike Medusa's heads for their invasive nature.

  • Farmers have noticed that Medusa's head can quickly take over entire fields, choking out other plants.

  • Due to its sharp awns, Medusa's head is often left unbothered by grazing animals.

  • The weed known as Medusa's head is notorious for its ability to outcompete desirable grass species.

Synonyms

Elymus caput-medusae
vsMedusa's head
  • Specialized
9.9

A wild grass with long sharp bristles on its seed heads that spread and harm fields

is the common descriptive name rather than the scientific form

Surface Forms

Medusa's head singular
Medusa's heads plural

Morphology

Medusa's + head

The name relies on a cultural-mythological image (Medusa’s snake-like hair) so a learner who knows 'Medusa' and 'head' can infer a resemblance to a rounded object with hairlike or bristling parts, but the leap from that image to a specific type of rye grass is metaphorical and requires world/cultural knowledge. Because the meaning is a figurative resemblance rather than direct compositional meaning and may be unpredictable for many B1 learners, it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Medusa's head comes from a Greek story because the plant's long, bristly awns look like Medusa's snake-like hair and the head of the grass looks like a mass of snakes, so people called the plant Medusa's head and the name now means this 'weedy grass'.