bitter betch

9.9

A European plant like a pea that lives many years and can poison animals

noun

: vicia amarga

Farmers often remove bitter betch to protect their livestock from poisoning.

Examples

The bitter betch can be harmful if ingested.
Botanists studied the spread of bitter betch in European grasslands.
The meadow was dotted with bitter betch among the wildflowers, so we kept our distance.
Many gardeners dislike the bitter betch for its toxicity.
Farmers often remove bitter betch to protect their livestock from poisoning.
The meadow was dotted with bitter betch among the wildflowers, so we kept our distance.
The bitter betch can be harmful if ingested.

Synonyms

Vicia orobus

vsbitter betch

Specialized

9.9

A plant that lives for more than one year, grows in European grasslands, and can poison farm animals

is toxic more generally and harms organisms beyond livestock

Surface Forms

bitter betch singular

bitter betches plural

Morphology

bitter + betch

This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'bitter' simply modifies the plant name 'betch', so a learner who knows both words will interpret it as a betch that is bitter. Although the dictionary entry gives specialized taxonomic and toxic information, those details are secondary; the core meaning 'a bitter variety of the plant betch' is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Bitter betch may come from an old local word for the pea-like plant called 'vetch', so betch is a local form of that name. The word bitter points to its sharp taste and the danger it can bring to animals, so the name came to mean a 'poisonous' vetch.