amabilis fir
- noun
- US
:
abeto amabilis
- When you crush the needles of the amabilis fir, you can smell a hint of orange.
Examples
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The amabilis fir is often used as a Christmas tree in regions where it is native.
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The amabilis fir is known for its beautiful conical shape.
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The forest was dominated by towering amabilis fir and other evergreen species.
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I planted an amabilis fir in my backyard last spring.
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The amabilis fir is often used as a Christmas tree in regions where it is native.
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The forest was dominated by towering amabilis fir and other evergreen species.
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When you crush the needles of the amabilis fir, you can smell a hint of orange.
Synonyms
A medium to tall fir tree from western North America with leaves that smell like an orange when crushed
A medium to tall fir from western North America with tiered branches and orange-scented needles when crushed
A medium or tall fir tree from western North America with a cone shape and orange-smelling leaves when crushed
Surface Forms
Morphology
amabilis + fir
The phrase is an adjectival epithet + noun (amabilis + fir) where 'amabilis' is a Latin adjective meaning 'lovely' or 'pleasant', so the overall meaning is simply 'a lovely/beautiful fir'. This compositional adjective+noun pattern is cross-linguistically common for species names and would be directly derivable by a learner who knows both constituents (though note that 'amabilis' as a Latin epithet may be unfamiliar to many learners).
Etymology
Amabilis fir gets its name from the Latin word amabilis, which means 'lovely' or 'pleasant'. People gave this name because the tree looks neat and its crushed needles smell a little like orange, so the name suggests a 'pleasant' fir tree.
