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Glite Dictionary
purple clover

purple clover

4.2
A plant with purple to pink flowers that farmers grow for animal food and to make soil better
  • noun
  • /ˈpɜrpl ˈkloʊvər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : trébol púrpura
  • The bees were buzzing around the purple clover in the field, gathering nectar for honey.

Examples

  • And then, as she always did for Cam's arrangements, she added as many sprigs of purple clover as she could without making the lines of the flowers seem overblown.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Zanni was weaving purple clover blossoms into a necklace.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • People also need colors like your white tail against the green grass under a blue sky that holds a yellow sun that shines on the purple clover.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Farmers often plant purple clover to improve soil fertility and provide forage for livestock.

  • In spring, the vibrant purple clover blooms add beautiful color to the meadows.

Synonyms

red clover
vspurple clover
1 2.7

A short plant with red-purple flowers that farm animals eat and helps make soil richer

is the same plant but named with a different common variant
Trifolium pratense
vspurple clover
  • Specialized
8.4

A clover plant with red-pink flowers grown for animal feed and to improve soil

is the same plant but called by a common English name

Surface Forms

purple clover singular
purple clovers plural

Morphology

purple + clover

The meaning 'a clover that is purple in color' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'purple' (a color adjective) with 'clover' (a plant noun). This is a regular adjective+noun composition describing a visible property, a common and cross-linguistically regular pattern that a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand.

Etymology

Purple clover comes from the plant's purple flowers and from it being a kind of clover. Farmers planted it as 'animal food' and to 'help the soil', so the name reminds you of both how it looks and what it is used for.