golden thread
- noun
- US
:
hilo dorado
- We found patches of golden thread blooming along the shaded forest trail.
Examples
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The herbalist identified the plant as golden thread, prized for its medicinal root.
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Golden thread thrives best in the cool, damp soils of northern woodlands.
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I found a golden thread in the garden.
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The golden thread is often used in herbal remedies.
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Golden thread thrives best in the cool, damp soils of northern woodlands.
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We found patches of golden thread blooming along the shaded forest trail.
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The herbalist identified the plant as golden thread, prized for its medicinal root.
Synonyms
A low plant from northern North American woods with leaves in groups of three, white flowers and a yellow root
A low plant that grows in woods with three-part leaves, yellow roots, and white flowers
A low-growing woodland plant with white flowers and bright yellow roots
Surface Forms
Morphology
The words 'golden' and 'thread' transparently suggest a thin, thread-like object that is golden/yellow in colour, so learners who know both constituents will infer a yellow, slender thing. However, recognizing this specific compound as the name of a perennial woodland plant (a botanical lexical item) is not fully predictable from the parts alone, so the plant sense requires prior lexical knowledge despite some compositional cues.
Etymology
Golden thread is named for its bright yellow, thread-like 'root' that looks like thin gold threads and was used as a 'medicine'. So the parts golden, meaning color, and thread, meaning shape, explain the plant's name.
