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Glite Dictionary
stone-face

stone-face

9.9
A small plant with thick leaves that looks like a stone and has yellow or white flowers
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : lithops
  • Her garden showcases various stone-faces, which resemble tiny rocks with striking flowers.

Examples

  • The stone-face blooms with a bright yellow flower every autumn.

  • The stone-face blends perfectly into its rocky habitat, making it difficult for animals to spot.

  • She has an impressive collection of stone-faces in her greenhouse, each with unique patterns.

  • The stone-face is a unique plant.

  • I bought a stone-face for my garden.

  • In the wild, the stone-face often goes unnoticed among the pebbles and stones in its environment.

  • Every summer, the stone-face surprises us with its beautiful white blooms that stand out against its rock-like appearance.

Synonyms

stoneface
vsstone-face
  • South African
1 9.9

A small plant with thick leaves that look like stones and yellow or white flowers

keeps the hyphenated spelling instead of the single word form
lithops
vsstone-face
  • Specialized
9.9

A small African succulent with thick leaves that look like stones and one yellow or white flower

is the common descriptive name rather than the formal Latin term
living stone
vsstone-face
  • South African
9.3

A small plant with thick leaves that looks like a stone and has yellow or white flowers

is the hyphenated or stylized form of that same common name
stone plant
vsstone-face
9.5

A small plant with thick leaves that look like stones and a single yellow or white flower

is a more marked hyphenated form rather than a simple compound
flowering stone
vsstone-face
  • South African
9.6

A small plant with thick leaves that look like stones and one yellow or white flower

focuses on the stone-like leaves rather than emphasizing the flowers

Surface Forms

stone-face singular
stone-faces plural

Morphology

stone-face = stone + face (semi-transparent) = stone + face

The components 'stone' and 'face' are recognizable, but the specific referent (a succulent plant) is a conventional name and not directly predictable from the compound by all learners.

Etymology

The word stone-face comes from the simple words stone ('a rock') and face ('front' or 'surface'). It names a small succulent whose top looks like a little rock and can hide among stones, so a stone-face is a plant that looks like a stone.