prairie sagewort
- noun
- US
:
salvia de pradera
- Botanists studied the prairie sagewort for its unique aromatic leaves.
Examples
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The prairie sagewort thrives in dry conditions.
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The field was dotted with prairie sagewort swaying in the summer breeze.
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In the northern plains, prairie sagewort is a common sight among wild grasses.
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Many gardeners appreciate prairie sagewort for its aroma.
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In the northern plains, prairie sagewort is a common sight among wild grasses.
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The field was dotted with prairie sagewort swaying in the summer breeze.
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Many gardeners appreciate prairie sagewort for its aroma.
Synonyms
A small aromatic plant with silvery green leaves and small brownish flowers that grows in dry northern areas
A plant with soft leaves and a strong smell that lives for many years and has small brownish flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
prairie + sagewort
The noun phrase is a transparent noun–noun composition: it denotes a sagewort (a kind of plant) associated with or growing on the prairie, so the meaning follows directly from 'prairie' (grassland) + 'sagewort' (a plant). Note that 'sagewort' is a rarer or dialectal term (and contains the archaic element 'wort'), but under the assumption that a learner knows both constituents the compound is fully compositional and inferable.
Etymology
Prairie sagewort combines prairie, meaning an open grassland, and sagewort, a plant with a smell like sage, so the name creates the image of a sage-scented plant found on the prairie.
