Venus's flytrap
- noun
- /ˈviːnəsɪz ˈflaɪtræp/
- US
:
atrapamoscas de Venus
- In biology class, we learned that the Venus's flytrap is a fascinating example of a carnivorous plant.
Examples
-
As in Venus's flytrap.
Fiction book (2001) -
A little "Venus's flytrap"?
Fiction book (2001) -
The Venus's flytrap uses its specialized leaves to catch and digest insects.
-
I bought a Venus's flytrap for my garden because it's both unique and interesting to observe.
Synonyms
4
4.1
A plant that catches and digests insects for food
A plant known as the Venus flytrap that traps and eats insects by closing its hinged leaves
How Carnivorous
Surface Forms
Morphology
Venus's + flytrap
The element 'flytrap' is transparently built from 'fly' + 'trap', so a B1 learner would infer a thing that traps flies; however, the full sense that this is a specific carnivorous plant (and the detailed behaviour of hinged snapping leaves) is not directly predictable from the parts. 'Venus's' is a proper-name modifier that signals a specific species but does not add compositional meaning a learner could use to derive the botanical details, so the expression is only partly predictable.
Etymology
Venus's flytrap may be named from two images: Venus's after the goddess of beauty, and flytrap because its two leaf halves snap shut like a little mouth to 'trap' and eat insects. So the name now means a small plant that catches and eats insects.