dead nettle
- noun
- /dɛd ˈnɛtəl/
:
ortiga muerta
- Unlike true nettles, dead nettle does not sting when touched.
Examples
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The dead nettle blooms beautifully in the spring.
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The garden was filled with lush dead nettle growing along the shady paths.
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She planted some dead nettle in her flowerbed to add greenery and texture.
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Unlike true nettles, dead nettle does not sting when touched.
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In my garden, I have planted a variety of dead nettles.
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She planted some dead nettle in her flowerbed to add greenery and texture.
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The garden was filled with lush dead nettle growing along the shady paths.
Synonyms
A plant with smooth, partly see-through stems and drooping green flower clusters
A small green weed with smooth see-through stems and drooping flowers
A low plant with thin see-through stems and drooping clusters of small green flowers
How Stinging
1
4.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase names a kind of nettle, so a learner who knows 'dead' and 'nettle' can infer it refers to a particular type of nettle rather than an unrelated idiom. However, the specific sense (a non-stinging plant that merely resembles true nettles and not literally dead) is not fully predictable from the constituents, so full comprehension without exposure is uncertain.
Etymology
Dead nettle This garden plant is called dead nettle because it looks like a nettle but has smooth leaves and no sting. The word dead marks it as 'not stinging', so the name reminds you the plant is safe to touch.