giant foxtail
- noun
- /ˈdʒaɪənt ˈfɑksteɪl/
- US
:
cola de zorro gigante
- Farmers struggle each year to control the spread of giant foxtail in their soybean fields.
Examples
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The field was overrun with giant foxtail, making it difficult for crops to grow.
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Her research focuses on the ecological impact of giant foxtail as an invasive weed species.
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The giant foxtail grows rapidly in the summer.
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Many farmers consider giant foxtails a nuisance.
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Farmers struggle each year to control the spread of giant foxtail in their soybean fields.
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Her research focuses on the ecological impact of giant foxtail as an invasive weed species.
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The field was overrun with giant foxtail, making it difficult for crops to grow.
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is fully compositional: 'giant' (very large) modifies 'foxtail' (a type of grass with a bushy seedhead), so the phrase denotes a large species of foxtail grass. This literal modifier + noun pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Giant foxtail is named for the plant's long, bushy seed head that looks like a fox's tail, where foxtail shows the tail-like top and giant shows it is larger than similar grasses. That's why the name means 'a large weed grass often found in fields'.