great white heron
- noun
- UK
:
garza real
- A great white heron flew silently over the reeds as the sun set.
Examples
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The wetland is home to several great white herons and other waterfowl.
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We spotted a great white heron standing gracefully by the lake.
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Look at that great white heron fishing in the pond!
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The great white heron is known for its striking appearance.
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We spotted a great white heron standing gracefully by the lake.
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A great white heron flew silently over the reeds as the sun set.
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The wetland is home to several great white herons and other waterfowl.
Synonyms
11
2.0
A large bird with long legs and neck that wades to catch fish
7
6.3
A long-legged white bird with thin feathers that lives near water
A large white bird with long legs and a long neck that wades in shallow water to catch fish
A large white heron that lives in Florida and the Florida Keys
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is fully compositional: 'great' (very large) + 'white' (color) + 'heron' (a long‑necked bird) directly yields the literal referent of a large white heron. This adjective‑noun combination follows a common descriptive pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can understand the MWE without prior exposure.
Etymology
Great white heron is a plain name that describes a very great (big) white heron; in Europe and Asia these large white herons are often called 'egrets'. The name paints the literal picture of a big white bird, so it means 'a large white heron'.