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Glite Dictionary
queen's cup

queen's cup

9.9
A plant from western North America with one or two white star-shaped flowers on short leafless stems
  • noun
  • /kwinz kʌp/
  • US
translation icon : taza de la reina
  • Hikers admired the delicate queen's cup flowers along the mountain trail.

Examples

  • The queen's cup blooms in early spring.

  • They photographed a cluster of queen's cup nestled among the ferns.

  • The forest floor was dotted with queen's cup blooming in the shade.

  • I spotted a beautiful queen's cup in the garden.

  • Hikers admired the delicate queen's cup flowers along the mountain trail.

  • The forest floor was dotted with queen's cup blooming in the shade.

  • They photographed a cluster of queen's cup nestled among the ferns.

Synonyms

Clintonia uniflora
vsqueen's cup
  • Specialized
9.9

A small plant that lives for many years with one or two white star-shaped flowers on short bare stalks

is the common English name rather than the Latin form
bride's bonnet
vsqueen's cup
  • US
9.9

A small plant with one or two white star-shaped flowers on short leafless stems

gives the general plant description without regional detail

Surface Forms

queen's cup singular
queen's cups plural

Morphology

queen's + cup

Although composed of familiar words 'queen' and 'cup', the phrase is a lexicalized plant name whose meaning ('a perennial plant with white starlike flowers') is not derivable from the literal possession sense or the object 'cup'. A B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely interpret it as a literal cup belonging to a queen rather than identifying a specific species of plant, so the relation is unpredictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Queen's cup may come from a simple picture: the plant's white, star-like petals form a small cup, so people imagined a tiny cup fit for a queen's table. That's why the name queen's cup is used for this delicate mountain 'flower' today.