Our Lord's candle
- noun
- US
:
vela de Nuestro Señor
- Many desert landscapes feature the tall, striking presence of Our Lord's candle.
Examples
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The hills were dotted with blooming Our Lord's candle in early summer.
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Botanists studied the remarkable structure of the Our Lord's candle flowers.
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Look at the stunning Our Lord's candle flowers!
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The Our Lord's candle is a beautiful plant.
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The hills were dotted with blooming Our Lord's candle in early summer.
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Many desert landscapes feature the tall, striking presence of Our Lord's candle.
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Botanists studied the remarkable structure of the Our Lord's candle flowers.
Synonyms
A desert plant that grows in the US Southwest and Mexico with a tall spike of creamy white flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
our + Lord's + candle
The phrase is a proper/common name rather than a literal description, so knowing 'our', 'Lord' and 'candle' would not let a B1 learner identify a specific yucca plant species. There is partial transparency because 'candle' evokes the plant's candle-like flower stalk, but the possessive 'Lord's' and the precise botanical reference are idiomatic and not fully predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Our Lord's candle may come from the plant's tall stem of creamy white flowers, which looks like a long white candle used for 'Our Lord' in church. So, the name now means the tall yucca plant with that long flower stem.
