ming tree
- noun
:
árbol artificial
- She collects rare ming trees made from precious stones.
Examples
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A jade ming tree stood next to the window, sparkling in the afternoon light.
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The living room was decorated with a ming tree on the coffee table.
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The ming tree adds a touch of elegance to my living room.
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I bought two ming trees for my office.
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A jade ming tree stood next to the window, sparkling in the afternoon light.
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She collects rare ming trees made from precious stones.
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The living room was decorated with a ming tree on the coffee table.
How Realistic
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although a B1 learner may know 'Ming' as a dynasty and 'tree' as a plant, those constituents do not transparently yield the sense 'an artificial miniature bonsai-like decorative plant.' The term appears lexicalized or product/cultural-specific rather than compositionally derived, so its meaning would not be predictable without prior exposure or extra cultural knowledge.
Etymology
Ming tree can also mean a small, non-living tree made of jade, stone, or wire because makers copied the tiny, shaped potted trees in hard materials as ornaments. So the name came to mean an 'artificial' miniature tree as well.