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Glite Dictionary
silver lime

silver lime

7.5
A large tree with leaves that are white and soft underneath and often planted in parks
  • noun
translation icon : tilo plateado
  • We admired the silvery underside of the silver lime's leaves on our walk.

Examples

  • The silver lime provides dense shade and is favored in many public parks.

  • The silver lime tree can grow over 20 meters tall.

  • Silver lime trees are often chosen for city planting because of their ornamental foliage.

  • Many parks feature the beautiful silver lime as a shade tree.

  • The silver lime is often chosen for its beautiful foliage and shade in parks.

  • In the botanical garden, the silver lime stands out with its striking white-leaf undersides.

  • Gardeners love the silver lime because it adds elegance to any landscape design.

Synonyms

silver linden
vssilver lime
  • UK
8.9

A large tree with leaves that are silver underneath often planted in parks

is the same tree but known by a different common name
Tilia tomentosa
vssilver lime
  • Specialized
9.8

A large tree with silvery leaves that are white and soft underneath

is the common English label rather than the Latin scientific form

Surface Forms

silver lime singular
silver limes plural

Morphology

silver + lime

The meaning is directly compositional: 'silver' describes the tree's silvery appearance and 'lime' (here 'linden' tree) names the species, so a learner can infer 'a linden tree with silvery leaves'. This follows a common adjective+noun naming pattern found across languages, making the sense predictable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

Silver lime comes from how the tree looks: its leaves are green on top but white and silver underneath, and when the wind moves them they seem to shine. That's why Silver lime is the name for this kind of lime 'tree' often planted in parks.