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Glite Dictionary
mustang mint

mustang mint

9.9
A fragrant annual herb with long narrow leaves and clusters of rose-purple flowers
  • noun
  • /ˈmʌstæŋ mɪnt/
  • US
translation icon : menta mustang
  • Gardeners prize mustang mint for its vibrant rose-purple flowers and strong fragrance.

Examples

  • We identified several wildflowers, including mustang mint, during our California hike.

  • The hillside was covered in blooming mustang mint after the spring rains.

  • The garden is full of mustang mint this summer.

  • Do you know where to find mustang mint?

  • Gardeners prize mustang mint for its vibrant rose-purple flowers and strong fragrance.

  • The hillside was covered in blooming mustang mint after the spring rains.

  • We identified several wildflowers, including mustang mint, during our California hike.

Synonyms

Monardella lanceolata
vsmustang mint
  • Specialized
9.9

A fragrant annual herb with long narrow leaves and clusters of purple flowers

is the common everyday name rather than the formal botanical label

Surface Forms

mustang mint singular
mustang mints plural

Morphology

mustang + mint

The head noun 'mint' clearly signals an aromatic herb, so a learner who knows that word will reasonably infer that 'mustang mint' names a type of mint. However, the modifier 'mustang' (dictionary entry missing here; commonly 'mustang' = wild horse) does not transparently convey the plant's specific properties or origin, so the full meaning (a particular California herb with rose-purple flowers) is not predictable. This yields partial compositionality: the basic category is clear but the specific sense is not, so it is semi-transparent.

Etymology

Mustang mint may come from a simple image: a minty plant that grew where mustang meant 'wild horses' roamed, so people joined mustang and mint to name it. That's why the name now means a 'fragrant herb' with rose-purple flowers.