showy lady slipper
- noun
- /ˈʃoʊi ˈleɪdi ˈslɪpər/
- US
:
zapatilla de dama vistosa
- The showy lady slipper thrives in wet meadows and boggy forests across northeastern America.
Examples
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Photographers travel every spring to capture the showy lady slipper in full bloom.
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Conservationists are working to protect the wetlands where the showy lady slipper grows.
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The showy lady slipper blooms in late spring.
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Many showy lady slippers can be found in the forest.
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Conservationists are working to protect the wetlands where the showy lady slipper grows.
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Photographers travel every spring to capture the showy lady slipper in full bloom.
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The showy lady slipper thrives in wet meadows and boggy forests across northeastern America.
Synonyms
30
9.8
A North American wildflower with a slipper-shaped lower petal
1
9.2
A wild orchid with a pouch-shaped lower petal that is hard to grow in gardens
A pale pink wild orchid with a pouch-like lip from northeastern America
A pale pink wild orchid with a pouch-shaped petal that grows in northeastern North America
A wild North American orchid with pale pink and white flowers and a large pouch
A wild orchid with pale pink pouch-shaped flowers that grows in wet places
A wildflower with a pouch-shaped lower petal that grows in shaded woods
A wild North American orchid with a pouch-shaped lower petal that is hard to grow in gardens
A wild orchid that has a pouch-shaped lower petal like a small shoe
A wild orchid with a large pouch-shaped lower petal like a slipper
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'showy' (visually striking) + 'lady slipper' give a learner a basic image of something attractive that resembles a lady's slipper, so there is a visible, motivated link to appearance. However the specific lexicalized meaning — a particular pale pink wild orchid — is not fully derivable from the parts, since 'lady slipper' is a conventional plant name rather than a literal shoe. This yields partial predictability but requires prior exposure to map the phrase to the botanical referent.
Etymology
Showy lady slipper is a common name for a pale pink wild orchid with a pouch-like part that looks like a small shoe. The name puts together showy, lady, and slipper — showy means big and eye-catching, and slipper refers to the pouch that looks like a 'shoe', so the words help you picture and remember the flower.