shepherd's purse
- noun
- /ˈʃɛpərdz pɜrs/
:
bolsa de pastor
- The shepherd's purse plant is often seen in fields.
Examples
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She recognized the heart-shaped pods of the shepherd's purse along the path.
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I found a patch of shepherd's purse in the garden.
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Farmers often consider shepherd's purse to be a troublesome weed in their fields.
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The shepherd's purse grows quickly in gardens and disturbed soil across many regions of the world.
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In her garden, she discovered a patch of shepherd's purse sprouting between the vegetables.
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He added shepherd's purse to the salad for its unique flavor and delicate blossoms.
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The herbalist recommended shepherd's purse as a natural remedy for digestive issues.
Synonyms
A small white-flowered plant that grows as a common weed with heart-shaped seed pods
A small common weed that has white flowers and heart-shaped seed pods
How Common
Surface Forms
Morphology
shepherd's + purse
The phrase transparently combines a possessive 'shepherd's' and 'purse' (a small bag); the plant name is motivated by its seed pods that resemble little purses, so the constituents give a visible semantic cue. However, knowing 'shepherd' and 'purse' alone will not reliably tell a B1 learner that this is the name of a specific small plant rather than an object, so the connection is only partly predictable and requires encyclopedic knowledge.
Etymology
Shepherd's purse is named because its flat, heart-shaped seed pods look like tiny purses or bags a shepherd might carry, so shepherd and purse give a clear picture. That image explains the name and makes it easy to remember this common 'weed'.