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fringed orchis

fringed orchis

9.9
A North American orchid that blooms in summer with a deeply cut lip
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : orchis fringida
  • The delicate petals of the fringed orchis are easily recognized by their deeply divided fringe.

Examples

  • The fringed orchis blooms in wet meadows during the summer months.

  • Botanists were excited to discover a rare fringed orchis along the woodland trail.

  • Look at that fringed orchis!

  • The fringed orchis blooms beautifully in the summer.

  • The fringed orchis blooms in wet meadows during the summer months.

  • Botanists were excited to discover a rare fringed orchis along the woodland trail.

  • The delicate petals of the fringed orchis are easily recognized by their deeply divided fringe.

Synonyms

fringed orchid
vsfringed orchis
  • Specialized
9.3

A type of orchid with a deeply cut lower petal that blooms in summer

has identical meaning but uses an alternate classical name

Surface Forms

Morphology

fringed + Orchis

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'fringed' (having an edged ornamentation) modifying 'orchis' (a type of orchid), so it denotes an orchis that has a fringed margin. This is a standard adjective + noun composition common across languages; even though 'orchis' is botanical, a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the phrase's meaning.

Etymology

The name fringed orchis comes from the flower's look: the part called the 'lip' has many thin, cut edges like a fringe. So fringed describes that frilly edge and orchis is the name for this kind of orchid, which is why the name means an orchid with a fringed lip.