tower cress
- noun
- UK
:
berro de torre
- Gardeners often cultivate tower cress for its delicate white flowers.
Examples
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Hikers in Europe frequently spot tower cress growing along country trails.
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The wild tower cress was blooming at the edge of the forest.
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Gardeners often cultivate tower cress for its delicate white flowers.
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The tower cress blooms in the spring.
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Have you seen the tower cress in the garden?
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Hikers in Europe frequently spot tower cress growing along country trails.
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The wild tower cress was blooming at the edge of the forest.
Synonyms
A tall thin plant with small yellow flowers like wild mustard
A tall plant called tower mustard that lives one or two years and has small white flowers
A tall European plant with stiff upright stems and yellow flowers
A small leafy plant with a peppery taste used in salads
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is transparently descriptive: 'tower' used attributively suggests tall/upright form and 'cress' denotes a small salad/garnish plant, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it names a tall type of cress. Descriptive plant names formed by combining an adjective or noun with a species noun are cross-linguistically common, making the meaning predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Tower cress gets its name from its tall, straight stems that look like a small tower and from the word cress, which names small cabbage-like plants. So the name helps you picture a thin, upright plant with little white flowers.
