black archangel
- noun
- UK
:
angelón negro
- The leaves of the black archangel have a distinctive wrinkled texture and an unpleasant smell.
Examples
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Gardeners sometimes avoid planting black archangel because of its strong scent.
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The black archangel is often found in damp, shady areas.
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We found a patch of black archangel growing in the shade near the old stone wall.
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Have you ever seen a black archangel in the wild?
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Gardeners sometimes avoid planting black archangel because of its strong scent.
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The leaves of the black archangel have a distinctive wrinkled texture and an unpleasant smell.
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We found a patch of black archangel growing in the shade near the old stone wall.
Synonyms
A European herb with wrinkled leaves and dark purple flowers that smell bad
A European herb with wrinkled leaves and dark purple flowers that smells unpleasant and is called black horehound
A European herb with wrinkled leaves that smells very bad
A small herb with wrinkled leaves, dark purple flowers and a strong unpleasant smell
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward adjective + noun compound: 'black' modifies 'archangel' (here a plant name). A B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings would readily infer it denotes a dark/black variety of the archangel herb, following common cross-linguistic plant-naming patterns, so the meaning is compositional and transparent.
Etymology
Black archangel may come from the plant's dark purple flowers and hooded blooms that look like a small angel in black robes, with black showing the dark color and archangel pointing to the angel-like shape. That's why the name fits a shady herb with wrinkled leaves and a 'strong scent'.
