pasque flower
- noun
- /pæsk ˈflaʊər/
- UK
:
flor de pascua
- The pasque flower blooms in early spring.
Examples
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The pasque flower blooms in early spring, often around Easter time.
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She pressed a pasque flower between the pages of her favorite book.
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Many gardeners prize the delicate beauty of the pasque flower in rock gardens.
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I saw a beautiful pasque flower in the garden.
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In the early spring, the garden was alive with the vibrant purple blooms of the pasque flower.
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While hiking in the mountains, we came across a patch of beautiful pasque flowers growing amongst the rocks.
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The pasque flower is often one of the first plants to bloom, heralding the arrival of warmer weather.
Synonyms
A small plant with bright purple or white flowers that appear in early spring
A small plant that grows every year and has bell-shaped flowers in spring
A small European plant that grows every year with violet or white flowers in spring
A European plant that lives many years with violet or white spring flowers and feathery leaves
A small European plant with violet or white flowers that bloom in spring
A small wild flower that comes back every year in western North America
A plant that lives many years in western North America with large hairy white flowers
A short, hairy plant that comes back every year and has blue-violet or lilac flowers in early spring
A short hairy plant with blue-violet or lilac flowers in early spring
A short, hairy plant from North America that lives more than one year and has blue-violet spring flowers
A short hairy plant that comes back each year with blue-violet spring flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
pasque + flower
The modifier 'pasque' (related to 'Paschal' or Easter) would allow a learner who knows that constituent to infer 'pasque flower' means a flower associated with Easter or early spring, so there is some compositional logic. However, 'pasque' is an obscure/archaic lexical item and the phrase is a lexicalised botanical name (Pulsatilla), so the exact referent and conventional usage are not fully predictable for a B1 learner. Because of this partial predictability and the rarity of the modifier, the MWE is best classed as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Pasque flower comes from an old word pasque meaning 'Easter' because this plant often blooms in early spring around that holiday. So the name points to a flower that appears at 'Easter'.
