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Glite Dictionary
doll's eyes

doll's eyes

9.9
A forest plant with small round white berries that look like eyes and are poisonous
  • noun
  • /dɑlz aɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ojos de muñeca
  • The distinctive berries of doll's eyes make the plant easy to identify in the forest.

Examples

  • She warned the children not to touch the doll's eyes growing at the edge of the woods.

  • Botanists study the toxicity of plants like doll's eyes because of their danger to humans and animals.

  • The plant's doll's eyes are toxic to humans.

  • I've seen doll's eyes growing in the woods.

  • The clusters of small white berries on the doll's eyes plant can look very appealing, but they are actually poisonous.

  • She carefully explained to the children that the berries of doll's eyes should never be eaten as they are toxic.

  • While hiking, we learned to identify doll's eyes by their unique white berries, which are a sign of danger in the woods.

Synonyms

Actaea alba
vsdoll's eyes
  • Specialized
9.9

A North American plant with white, poisonous berries like small eyes

is the common woodland name rather than the Latin species label
white baneberry
vsdoll's eyes
  • Specialized
9.9

A forest plant with white poisonous berries that look like small round eyes

is the same species but serves as the familiar common name
white bead
vsdoll's eyes
  • Specialized
9.9

A North American plant with white poisonous berries that look like small balls

is the same species but names it by the berries' beadlike appearance
white cohosh
vsdoll's eyes
  • Specialized
9.1

A plant from North America with white poisonous berries

is the specific woodland species rather than a broader herb name

Surface Forms

doll's eyes singular
doll's eyes plural

Morphology

doll's + eye

The phrase is built on a visible resemblance: a learner who knows 'doll' and 'eye' can infer that the referent looks like a doll's eyes (i.e., a descriptive, appearance-based name). However, that knowledge does not reliably tell a B1 learner that the expression denotes a specific North American herb with toxic white berries, so the full, lexicalized referent is not fully predictable from the parts alone. This partial predictability (metaphorical/labeling but not fully compositional) makes it semi-transparent.

Etymology

Doll's eyes is named for its round white berries that have a dark spot, so they look like the shiny eyes of a toy doll. That's why the name helps people spot the plant and remember its berries are 'poisonous'.