cat thyme

9.9

A small plant from the Mediterranean with reddish-purple flowers that attracts cats

noun

: tomillo de gato

The cat thyme bloomed with vibrant reddish-purple flowers this spring.

Examples

My garden's cat thyme attracts every stray feline in the neighborhood.
Botanists often recommend cat thyme for people wanting a natural way to entertain their cats.
My garden has beautiful cat thyme.
The cat thyme attracts all the neighborhood cats.
My garden's cat thyme attracts every stray feline in the neighborhood.
The cat thyme bloomed with vibrant reddish-purple flowers this spring.
Botanists often recommend cat thyme for people wanting a natural way to entertain their cats.

Synonyms

Teucrium marum

vscat thyme

Specialized

9.9

A Mediterranean plant with small hairy leaves and reddish purple flowers that attracts cats

is the common everyday name for that same plant

marum

vscat thyme

Specialized

9.9

A Mediterranean plant like mint with small hairy leaves and purple flowers that attract cats

is the common name without family classification

Surface Forms

cat thyme singular

cat thymes plural

Morphology

cat + thyme

The compound is directly compositional: 'cat' modifies 'thyme', signalling a kind of thyme associated with cats (e.g., that attracts them). This noun+noun formation follows a common, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the plant-related meaning.

Etymology

Cat thyme gets its name from a simple picture: its scented leaves and small reddish flowers often make cats come and play, like catnip. So the name links cat and thyme, and that is why it means a herb that 'attracts cats'.