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Glite Dictionary
red admiral

red admiral

7.9
A butterfly with black wings and red and white marks
  • noun
  • /rɛd ˈædmərəl/
  • UK
translation icon : admiral rojo
  • The striking red admiral butterfly can often be seen resting on flowers during the summer.
  • red admiral butterfly

Examples

  • I saw a beautiful red admiral in the garden.

  • A red admiral fluttered gracefully among the garden flowers, displaying its vivid colors.

  • The children watched as a red admiral landed gently on a dandelion.

  • We spotted a red admiral basking in the sunlight on the stone wall.

  • The red admiral is one of my favorite butterflies.

  • During my hike, I spotted a beautiful red admiral with its vivid red and black wings.

  • At the botanical garden, children were excited to watch a red admiral fluttering around the blooming plants.

Synonyms

Vanessa atalanta
vsred admiral
  • Specialized
8.7

A butterfly with black wings and red and white bands called the red admiral

is the everyday common name used in informal or general contexts

Surface Forms

red admiral singular
red admirals plural

Morphology

red + admiral

The compound is a straightforward color + noun composition: 'red' (a color) + 'admiral' (a group of butterflies), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a red member of that butterfly group. Color + animal/name patterns are common cross-linguistically and follow a standard naming convention, making the sense easily derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Red admiral is the name of a butterfly with black wings and bright red bands. People thought the bold pattern looked like a smart uniform, like an admiral, so the name links the color and the officer image and now means 'a type of butterfly'.