mourning cloak butterfly
- noun
- /ˈmɔrnɪŋ kloʊk ˈbaɪtəflaɪ/
- US
:
mariposa luto
- With its dark wings trimmed in yellow, the mourning cloak butterfly is easy to identify.
Examples
-
The mourning cloak butterfly is often seen in early spring before most other butterflies emerge.
-
Children watched as a mourning cloak butterfly landed on a sunlit tree branch.
-
The mourning cloak butterfly is often seen in spring.
-
Look at that mourning cloak butterfly resting on the flowers!
-
Children watched as a mourning cloak butterfly landed on a sunlit tree branch.
-
The mourning cloak butterfly is often seen in early spring before most other butterflies emerge.
-
With its dark wings trimmed in yellow, the mourning cloak butterfly is easy to identify.
Synonyms
A large dark purple butterfly with yellow edges on its wings
A large dark butterfly with pale yellow edges on its wings
A large butterfly with dark purple wings and yellow edges
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines literal elements: 'mourning' + 'cloak' describes a dark, cloak-like appearance and is applied to 'butterfly', so a learner who knows the words can infer it refers to a butterfly that looks like a dark cloak. However, the exact species identity and specific coloration (dark purple wings with yellow borders) are not fully predictable from the constituents, so the relation is partly metaphorical rather than strictly compositional.
Etymology
The name mourning cloak butterfly may come from the insect's dark, soft wings that look like a heavy coat. The phrase mourning cloak refers to the dark coat people wear in 'mourning', and the butterfly's dark wings with a pale yellow edge look like that coat, so the name helps you remember this butterfly.
