sweet William
1
6.7
- noun
- /swit ˈwɪljəm/
:
clavelina
- The phlox, black-eyed Susans, echinacea, and even some Sweet William and straw flowers add bright splashes to the garden's green.
Examples
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The vibrant clusters of sweet William created a beautiful display in the garden.
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There's a vase full of Sweet William.
Fiction book (1992) -
Torrents of white water tumbled in thin cataracts to a meadow sprinkled with rosemary and sweet William.
Fiction book (1999) -
Carnations and Sweet William are also in the Dianthus family, and Pinks resemble small carnations with coloring similar to Sweet Williams.
Blog text (13) -
Carnations and Sweet William are also in the Dianthus family, and Pinks resemble small carnations with coloring similar to Sweet Williams.
Blog text (13) -
I planted sweet William alongside daisies and marigolds for a colorful border.
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During spring, the sweet William flowers attract many butterflies to the backyard.
Synonyms
A garden plant with flat dense clusters of small bright flowers in many colors and a sweet scent
Surface Forms
Morphology
sweet + William
“Sweet William” is a lexicalized plant name (Dianthus barbatus) where one element is a descriptive adjective and the other is a proper name; the compound does not compose into the meaning ‘a garden plant’ in an obvious way. A B1 learner who knows ‘sweet’ and the name ‘William’ would likely interpret it as a person or a sweet thing named William rather than deduce the botanical referent, so the meaning is not predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Sweet William probably comes from a simple image: the flowers smell sweet and people later added the name William (perhaps after a well-known man). So the name stuck and today sweet William means a colorful 'garden plant' with a pleasant scent.