sorb apple
- noun
- UK
:
manzano sorbo
- The sorb apple tree produces small, edible fruits that are harvested in autumn.
Examples
-
Local farmers sometimes use sorb apples to make traditional jams and liqueurs.
-
The sorb apple tree grows well in temperate climates.
-
He planted a sorb apple in his garden, hoping to try the rare fruit.
-
Why did they plant a sorb apple tree in the garden?
-
The sorb apple tree produces small, edible fruits that are harvested in autumn.
-
Local farmers sometimes use sorb apples to make traditional jams and liqueurs.
-
He planted a sorb apple in his garden, hoping to try the rare fruit.
Synonyms
A medium-sized European tree that makes small fruit you can eat
A medium-sized European tree with pear-shaped edible fruit
A medium European tree like a rowan that produces small edible fruit
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase names a type of apple-like fruit formed compositionally from 'sorb' (a tart fruit from Sorbus trees) + 'apple', so the overall meaning — an apple/fruit associated with the sorb tree — follows directly from the constituents. This kind of noun-noun compounding is a regular, cross-linguistic pattern and would be interpretable by a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Sorb apple may come from an old word sorb for the tree and the word apple, which long ago meant any 'fruit', so the name refers to the 'tree' that makes small, tart fruit.