Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
lesser centaury

lesser centaury

9.9
A small European plant that lives for one year with clusters of bright pink flowers
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : centaurio menor
  • In summer, lesser centaury often carpets meadows across parts of Europe.

Examples

  • She carefully identified the lesser centaury by its cluster of tiny blooms.

  • The bright pink flowers of the lesser centaury are easy to spot in open grasslands.

  • The lesser centaury blooms beautifully in the spring.

  • Many gardeners appreciate the lesser centaury for its vibrant color.

  • In summer, the lesser centaury often carpets meadows across parts of Europe.

  • The bright pink flowers of the lesser centaury are easy to spot in open grasslands.

  • Many gardeners appreciate the lesser centaury for its vibrant color.

Synonyms

centaury
vslesser centaury
9.9

A small plant with pink or blue flowers often used in herbal medicine

is a specific small European annual species with dense clusters of pink flowers

Surface Forms

lesser centaury singular
lesser centauries plural

Morphology

lesser + centaury

The meaning 'a small species/variety of centaury' is directly derived from combining 'lesser' (smaller/reduced) with 'centaury' (a small plant), so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's referent. This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition common cross-linguistically, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.

Etymology

Lesser centaury may come from an old story about the centaur Chiron, who used a plant for 'healing'. So centaury links the flower to that healing story and lesser shows this is the smaller kind, which helps explain the name.