jumping seed
- noun
- /ˈdʒʌmpɪŋ siːd/
- Specialized
:
frijol saltarín
- A jumping seed contains a moth larva that causes it to twitch and leap.
Examples
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The children watched the jumping seed move erratically across the table.
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She bought a souvenir bag of jumping seeds from a market in Mexico.
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I found a jumping seed in my garden.
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The jumping seeds fascinated the children.
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The children watched a jumping seed roll and bounce on the ground in the sunlight.
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She brought back some jumping seeds from her trip to Mexico, and the kids loved playing with them.
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During the science lesson, we observed how a jumping seed moved when the larva inside began to wiggle.
Synonyms
1
7.3
A seed that moves because a baby moth lives inside it
1
8.3
A seed from a Mexican shrub that jumps when a baby moth moves inside
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a seed that jumps or tumbles' is directly and literally composed from 'jumping' (moving by jumping) + 'seed' (plant part), so a learner who knows both words can infer a seed that jumps. Although it is a specific botanical term, the participle+noun composition is transparent and follows common cross-linguistic patterns, making it comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The noun jumping seed comes from small seeds that really move because a baby moth lives inside them. The moth's twitching makes the seed seem to jump, so the name came to mean a 'seed that jumps'.