downy chess
- noun
- Specialized
:
bromus peludo
- In spring, the softly hairy leaves of downy chess become easily recognizable.
Examples
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The field was dotted with patches of downy chess among the other wild grasses.
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Farmers often struggle with downy chess during the winter months.
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Farmers consider downy chess a troublesome weed in some Mediterranean areas.
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The downy chess is often found in Mediterranean fields.
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Farmers consider downy chess a troublesome weed in some Mediterranean areas.
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In spring, the softly hairy leaves of downy chess become easily recognizable.
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The field was dotted with patches of downy chess among the other wild grasses.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A fast-growing grass from Europe and Asia that often becomes a weed and replaces native plants
An annual grass with soft hairy leaves that often grows as a weed
A small Mediterranean grass with soft hairy leaves
A grass with soft hairy leaves that spreads quickly and is often a weed
A one-year grass with soft hairy leaves that often spreads and harms local plants
An annual grass with soft hairy leaves that bends down
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'downy' (softly hairy) simply modifies 'chess' (a Bromus grass), so the meaning 'a chess grass with softly hairy leaves' is directly derivable from the parts. Such adjectival modification is a basic, cross-linguistic composition pattern and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituent senses (noting potential confusion only if the learner knows only the board-game sense of 'chess').
Etymology
Downy chess likely gets its name from its look and habit: downy means soft and hairy, and chess was an old name for wild grasses that slipped into grain fields. So the name gives a clear picture of a softly hairy grass that often turns up as a 'weed' in fields.