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bluebottle

bluebottle

6.6
A garden plant with bright blue, purple, pink, or white flowers
  • noun
  • /ˈbluːˌbɒtəl/
  • UK
translation icon : aciano
  • The bluebottle added a splash of vivid color to her summer garden.

Examples

  • She picked a delicate bluebottle and tucked it behind her ear.

  • Wild bluebottles were seen blooming along the edges of the wheat fields.

  • The garden was filled with beautiful bluebottles this summer.

  • I planted a bluebottle in my backyard.

  • She picked a delicate bluebottle flower and tucked it behind her ear.

  • The bluebottle plant added a splash of vivid color to her summer garden.

  • Wild bluebottles were seen blooming brightly along the edges of the wheat fields.

Synonyms

cornflower
vsbluebottle
4 3.4

A small plant with bright blue flowers often grown in gardens

is the specific species term rather than a broader group label
Centaurea cyanus
vsbluebottle
  • Specialized
9.7

A plant with bright blue, pink, purple, or white flowers often grown in gardens and known as cornflower

is the common garden name rather than the formal scientific term
bachelor's button
vsbluebottle
7.2

A plant from Europe and Asia that grows each year with bright blue, purple, pink, or white flowers

is the more specific garden name rather than the traditional variant

Surface Forms

bluebottle singular
bluebottles plural

Morphology

bluebottle = blue + bottle (semi-transparent) = blue + bottle

The components signal colour and a shape metaphor, but recognizing the compound as the garden flower (cornflower) is lexicalized and not purely deducible.

Etymology

Bluebottle breaks into blue and bottle because the plant's bright blue flower heads can look like small 'bottles' in a field, so gardeners often call the pretty cornflower a bluebottle.