pickerel weed
- noun
- /ˈpɪkərəl wiːd/
- US
:
hierba pickerel
- As summer approached, the pickerel weed bloomed brightly along the edges of the stream.
Examples
-
" That plant, pickerel weed, is used by many small aquatic animals.
Academic text (2000) -
The pond was filled with beautiful spikes of blue flowers growing from the pickerel weed.
-
Many fish and frogs find shelter among the dense growth of pickerel weed in the lake.
Synonyms
A water plant with broad leaves and blue flower spikes that grows at pond edges
A water plant with spikes of blue flowers that grows in shallow ponds and streams
A water plant with spikes of bright blue flowers that grows in shallow streams and ponds
A water plant with purple flowers that grows at the edges of ponds
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines a known fish name 'pickerel' with 'weed' (plant), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a plant associated with pickerel or found in water, giving a clear thematic relation. However, the precise identity as a specific American aquatic species with blue flower spikes is lexicalized and not fully predictable from the parts, so full meaning requires prior exposure.
Etymology
The plant name pickerel weed may come from the small fish pickerel that live in the same shallow water. Because the blue flower spikes grow where those fish swim, people named the weed after the fish, so the name helps you remember it is a 'water plant'.
