pearly everlasting
- noun
- /ˈpɜrli ˌɛvərˈlæstɪŋ/
- US
:
perpetua
- Gardeners often plant pearly everlasting for its attractive, long-lasting white flowers.
Examples
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Dried pearly everlasting is popular in floral arrangements because it retains its color and shape.
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The pearly everlasting bloomed along the roadside, its silvery leaves shimmering in the sunlight.
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The pearly everlasting blooms in late summer.
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I found a patch of pearly everlastings near the river.
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Dried pearly everlasting is popular in floral arrangements because it retains its color and shape.
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Gardeners often plant pearly everlasting for its attractive, long-lasting white flowers.
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The pearly everlasting bloomed along the roadside, its silvery leaves shimmering in the sunlight.
Synonyms
A North American plant called pearly everlasting with small white flowers and woolly leaves
A small plant with soft, hairy leaves and long lasting white flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a simple adjective + noun composition: 'pearly' (pearl-like in appearance) describing an 'everlasting' (a type of daisy-family flower that preserves when dried). If a learner knows both constituent meanings, the phrase denotes an everlasting flower with pearly/white bracts and is directly derivable from its parts, following a common English descriptive pattern.
Etymology
Pearly everlasting gets its name from the plant's look and how long its flowers last. Its tiny white flower heads have a pearly, shiny look and, when dried, keep their color and shape for a long time, so pearly describes the look and everlasting means 'long-lasting'.
