cornelian cherry

9.9

A small European tree or bush that grows bright red fruit you can eat

noun
/kɔrˈniːlɪən ˈtʃɛri/

: cerezo cornelio

She planted a cornelian cherry in her garden for its ornamental value and edible berries.

Examples

The cornelian cherry tree blooms in early spring.
Jams made from cornelian cherry fruit are popular in Eastern Europe.
The cornelian cherry produces clusters of bright red fruit in late summer.
I picked some cornelian cherries from the garden.
The gardener planted a cornelian cherry in the center of the garden for its beautiful red fruits.
In early spring, the cornelian cherry tree bursts into bloom, attracting many pollinators with its vibrant flowers.
We enjoyed a picnic under the cornelian cherry tree, snacking on the sweet, ripe fruits it bore.

Synonyms

Cornus mas

vscornelian cherry

Specialized

9.9

A bush or small tree that loses its leaves in winter and produces red cherry-like fruit

is native to Europe only and has edible fruit

Surface Forms

cornelian cherry singular

cornelian cherries plural

Morphology

cornelian + cherry

This is a straightforward modifier+noun compound: 'cornelian' specifies a particular kind of 'cherry', so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a type/variety of cherry (a small red edible fruit/tree). Even though 'cornelian' is an uncommon label, the compositional pattern (adjective + noun = subtype) is transparent and cross-linguistically familiar, allowing the overall meaning to be derived from the parts.

Etymology

The name cornelian cherry comes from the old word cornel, the name for a small tree whose fruit looked like a tiny red cherry, so people called it the cherry of the cornel tree. So today cornelian cherry means a small tree with bright red, edible fruit.