lady's tresses
- noun
- /ˈleɪdiz ˈtrɛsɪz/
:
trenzas de la dama
- The white, spiraled flowers of lady's tresses can be found blooming in late summer meadows.
Examples
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We spotted a clump of lady's tresses along the woodland edge during our hike.
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The lady's tresses bloomed beautifully in the garden.
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Botanists admire lady's tresses for their delicate appearance and unique flowering pattern.
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I spotted a rare lady's tress during my hike yesterday.
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The white, spiraled flowers of lady's tresses can be found blooming in late summer meadows.
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We spotted a clump of lady's tresses along the woodland edge during our hike.
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Botanists admire lady's tresses for their delicate appearance and unique flowering pattern.
Synonyms
A small orchid with twisted spikes of white flowers
How Showy
Surface Forms
Morphology
lady's + tress
The phrase literally combines 'lady's' (possessive of lady) with 'tresses' (locks of hair), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer a metaphorical reference to something that looks like a woman's hair. However, knowing it refers specifically to an orchid species (genus Spiranthes) is not predictable from the parts alone, so the relation is partially transparent but requires prior exposure for full meaning.
Etymology
Lady's tresses comes from the small white flowers that spiral up the stem like a woman's braided hair. Because tresses means 'long hair', the name helps you picture the orchid's twisted, hair-like flowers.