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Glite Dictionary
honeysuckle family

honeysuckle family

6.8
A group of shrubs, small trees, and woody vines that includes honeysuckle and similar plants
  • noun
  • /ˈhʌniˌsʌkəl ˈfæmɪli/
  • Specialized
translation icon : familia de las madreselvas
  • The honeysuckle family contains many ornamental garden plants.

Examples

  • Several species in the honeysuckle family are grown for their fragrant flowers.

  • Botanists studied the diversity within the honeysuckle family across different continents.

  • The honeysuckle family includes many beautiful plants.

  • I love the flowers from the honeysuckle family.

  • The honeysuckle family includes several plants that attract hummingbirds.

  • Plants in the honeysuckle family are often used for ornamental gardens.

  • The fragrant blooms of the honeysuckle family bring beauty to many landscapes.

Synonyms

Caprifoliaceae
vshoneysuckle family
  • Specialized
9.9

A family of flowering shrubs and small trees that includes honeysuckles

is the common descriptive name used in ordinary language for the same family

Surface Forms

honeysuckle family singular
honeysuckle families plural

Morphology

honeysuckle + family

The meaning 'a family of shrubs, small trees, and woody vines that includes the honeysuckle' is directly and compositionally derived from 'honeysuckle' (the plant) plus 'family' (a group or taxonomic grouping). This noun-noun construction and the concept of a family as a grouping of related species is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Honeysuckle family comes from the plant name honeysuckle, made of honey + suckle, because its flowers have a sweet juice that insects used to 'suckle', or drink. So the honeysuckle family is the group of plants related to that sweet-flowered plant, which is why it names a family of shrubs, small trees, and vines.