Virginia serpentary
- noun
- US
:
serpentaria de Virginia
- Botanists discovered a rare specimen of Virginia serpentary during their field study.
Examples
-
The Virginia serpentary blooms beautifully in the spring.
-
The woods were filled with Virginia serpentary and other native plants.
-
Many herbalists once believed Virginia serpentary had medicinal properties.
-
I saw a Virginia serpentary while hiking in the woods.
-
I saw a Virginia serpentary while hiking in the woods.
-
The woods were filled with Virginia serpentary and other native plants.
-
Many herbalists once believed Virginia serpentary had medicinal properties.
Synonyms
A plant that grows in eastern United States woods with thin, curved roots once used in herbal medicine
A woodland plant with slender stems and heart-shaped leaves called Virginia snakeroot
A woodland herb from North America with heart-shaped leaves and small brown flowers once used as medicine
A plant that grows along the ground with curved, tube-like flowers once used to help women give birth
Surface Forms
Morphology
Virginia + serpentary
The compound's meaning (a specific woodland plant, birthwort) is lexicalized and cannot be inferred from 'Virginia' (a place name) plus the rare or opaque form 'serpentary' (not a transparent or productive derivation from 'serpent'). 'Virginia' only indicates geographic association and the botanical sense is unpredictable, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would not reliably derive the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Virginia serpentary comes from the old word serpentary, which links to the word 'serpent' meaning 'snake'. One popular story says people long ago used the plant to 'cure snake bites' or thought its pipe-shaped flowers looked like little snakes, so that snake image is why the name stuck and now simply names this woodland plant.
