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Glite Dictionary
butcher's broom

butcher's broom

9.9
A low shrub with flat stems that look like leaves and red berries
  • noun
translation icon : escobón
  • The butcher's broom is often found in Mediterranean gardens.

Examples

  • The spiky branches of butcher's broom were once used to sweep butcher shops clean.

  • Traditional herbalists value butcher's broom for its potential medicinal properties.

  • Gardeners often plant butcher's broom for its hardiness and attractive red berries.

  • Many people use butcher's broom for its medicinal properties.

  • A traditional broom can be made from butcher's broom because of its stiff stems.

  • In old marketplaces, vendors sometimes displayed traditional brooms made from butcher's broom.

  • The gardener decided to plant butcher's broom to add variety to her shrub collection.

Synonyms

Ruscus aculeatus
vsbutcher's broom
  • Specialized
9.9

A small evergreen bush with stiff stems that look like flat leaves and red berries

has identical meaning but is the traditional common name

Surface Forms

butcher's broom singular
butcher's brooms plural

Morphology

butcher's + broom

The head noun 'broom' (a shrub) makes the overall category — a kind of plant/shrub — reasonably inferable to a B1 learner who knows the constituents, so they can guess it names a type of broom-like shrub. However, the possessive 'butcher's' does not transparently explain the specific species or why the plant is associated with butchers, so the exact referent and background meaning are not predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Butcher's broom got its name because butchers once used its tough, leaf-like stems as a broom to sweep their shops. So today the name refers to a low 'shrub' rather than to a cleaning tool.