sickle alfalfa
- noun
- Specialized
:
alfalfa de hoz
- Scientists are studying sickle alfalfa for its drought resistance and soil-enriching properties.
Examples
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The field was full of sickle alfalfa blooming under the summer sun.
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Farmers sometimes plant sickle alfalfa as a forage crop for livestock in dry regions.
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Look at the sickle alfalfa growing here!
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Is that sickle alfalfa over there?
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Farmers sometimes plant sickle alfalfa as a forage crop for livestock in dry regions.
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The field was full of sickle alfalfa blooming under the summer sun.
-
Scientists are studying sickle alfalfa for its drought resistance and soil-enriching properties.
Synonyms
A European plant with bright yellow flowers and curved seed pods
A clover plant with yellow flowers and curved seed pods like a sickle
A plant like a clover with bright yellow flowers and curved seed pods
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a descriptive noun–noun compound where 'sickle' (curved blade) qualifies 'alfalfa' (a plant), so the meaning — an alfalfa with sickle-shaped parts (seed pods) — is directly derivable from the constituents. Such compositional shape-based compounds follow common English and cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Sickle alfalfa: The plant name sickle alfalfa comes from its curved seed pods that look like a small sickle. The word alfalfa is the common name for a plant grown as 'feed' for animals, so the whole name helps you remember it is a feed plant with sickle-shaped pods.
