lenten rose
- noun
- /ˈlɛntən roʊz/
:
rosa de Cuaresma
- In February, hundreds of Lenten roses bloom along the walk.
Examples
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Lenten rose in bloom, onions returning, and planted some new ones along with lettuce.
Blog text (12) -
Lenten roses bring the waning days of winter into full bloom.
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Lenten rose hybrids have graced the shaded beds of Southern gardens for generations.
Synonyms
A garden plant that lives for many years with thick green leaves and purple-green flowers in spring
Surface Forms
Morphology
A learner who knows 'lenten' (pertaining to Lent) and 'rose' (a flower) can reasonably infer this refers to a flower associated with the Lent/early-spring period, so the general idea is accessible. However, the phrase is a fixed plant name (Helleborus) and the referent is not an actual rose; that specific lexical/botanical information is not predictable from the parts, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Lenten rose gets its name from when and how it blooms: it often flowers during 'Lent', the weeks before Easter, and its blossoms look a little like small roses. That's why people called it a lenten rose, even though it is 'not a true rose'.
