field scabious
- noun
- UK
:
escabiosa de campo
- The field scabious blooms beautifully throughout the summer in English meadows.
Examples
-
Gardeners often plant field scabious to attract bees and butterflies.
-
She picked a bunch of field scabious during her walk along the country lane.
-
The field scabious blooms beautifully in summer.
-
I saw a patch of field scabious while hiking.
-
Gardeners often plant field scabious to attract bees and butterflies.
-
The field scabious blooms beautifully throughout the summer in English meadows.
-
She picked a bunch of field scabious during her walk along the country lane.
Synonyms
A plant that lives for many years with light purple flowers in meadows
A plant with round heads of blue, purple, or white flowers that grows in meadows
A garden plant with round, pincushion-like flowers often from Mediterranean areas
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward noun–noun compound where 'field' specifies the habitat or type of the noun 'scabious' (a flowering plant), so its meaning is simply 'a scabious that grows in fields.' This is a descriptive, compositional pattern common in English and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Field scabious gets its name from field, where the plant grows, and the old word scabious, which may come from a word for 'scab' or itchy skin because people once used the plant to treat skin problems. So the name links the place it grows and its old use, and today field scabious simply means the common meadow flower with blue-lilac blooms.
