rabbit brush
- noun
- /ˈræbɪt brʌʃ/
- US
:
arbusto conejo
- The rabbit brush emits a pleasant aroma, especially during its blooming season.
Examples
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In the autumn, the rabbit brush turns a bright yellow, adding color to the plains.
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We drove through ground swells of dunes tied down at their edges by rabbit brush and ricegrass.
Academic text (2007) -
The rabbit brush is often used to make a natural yellow dye for fabrics.
Synonyms
A scented shrub with many small yellow flowers that people use to make yellow dye
A small scented bush with thin hairy branches and yellow flower clusters that grows in dry western North America
A low, branching shrub with yellow flowers that grows in western North America and is often called rabbitbrush
Surface Forms
Morphology
rabbit + brush
The noun 'brush' clearly indicates a thicket or shrub, and 'rabbit' as a modifier suggests an association (e.g., a bush linked to rabbits), so a B1 learner could infer it denotes a type of shrub. However, the precise botanical identity and attributes (aromatic, yellow flowers, source of dye) are not predictable from the constituents, making the compound only partially transparent.
Etymology
Rabbit brush may come from people watching rabbits use the low brush for 'shelter' or food. Because rabbits were often seen around the yellow‑flowered shrub, the name came to mean this common shrub on the plains.
