mithridate mustard
- noun
:
mostaza de mithridato
- The garden was overrun with mithridate mustard, its pungent smell unmistakable.
Examples
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Many farmers consider mithridate mustard to be a troublesome invasive species.
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Botanists have noted the rapid spread of mithridate mustard across North American meadows.
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The mithridate mustard is often found in disturbed areas.
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Many gardeners consider mithridate mustard a nuisance weed.
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The garden was overrun with mithridate mustard, its pungent smell unmistakable.
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Many farmers consider mithridate mustard to be a troublesome invasive species.
-
Botanists have noted the rapid spread of mithridate mustard across North American meadows.
Synonyms
1
9.0
A smelly weed with round flat seed pods
A common weed from Europe and Asia with round flat seed pods and a strong unpleasant smell
A wild plant with a strong smell and round flat seed pods
A smelly weed with round flat seed pods that grows in fields
A smelly weed with round flat seed pods from Europe and Asia now growing in North America
A plant with a bad smell and flat round seed pods that spread easily
Surface Forms
Morphology
mithridate + mustard
The modifier 'mithridate' is not a productive, transparent English word (not found in the provided dictionary entry), so even knowing 'mustard' a B1 learner could not infer the specific sense 'a fetid Eurasian weed.' This is a lexicalized botanical name-like expression where the overall meaning is specific and unpredictable from its parts, so it is not compositionally transparent.
Etymology
Mithridate mustard may come from the old word 'mithridate', which meant a universal 'antidote'. People long ago thought the strong, sharp smell or taste of mustard could fight poisons, so that idea gave the name to this pungent weed.