grass frog

2.7

A common European frog that lives on land and in water and is often green or brown

noun

: rana de hierba

The grass frog is well adapted to both land and water environments.

Examples

On our hike, we spotted a grass frog near the edge of the pond.
The grass frogs are often found in wet meadows.
Children caught a grass frog for the school biology project.
I spotted a grass frog near the pond.
On our hike, we spotted a grass frog near the edge of the pond.
Children caught a grass frog for the school biology project.
The grass frog is well adapted to both land and water environments.

Synonyms

frog

vsgrass frog

383 1.0

A tailless animal with long back legs that lives near water and jumps

is a specific European species that often lives both on land and water

Rana temporaria

vsgrass frog

7.5

A common European frog that lives on land and near water

is the common nontechnical name for that same European species

Surface Forms

grass frog singular

grass frogs plural

Morphology

grass + frog

The meaning of 'grass frog' is directly composed from 'grass' (indicating habitat or color) + 'frog' (the amphibian), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a frog associated with grassy areas and likely green/brown coloring. This noun–noun compounding is a common, cross-linguistic descriptive pattern and therefore fully transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

Grass frog comes from a simple picture: a frog living in grass near ponds and other wet places, often green or brown in colour. So, the name now refers to the common European frog that 'lives both on land and in water'.