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Glite Dictionary
water gillyflower

water gillyflower

9.9
A water plant with soft spongy stems full of air and white flowers
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : flor de agua
  • Researchers studied the water gillyflower to understand its unique spongy stems.

Examples

  • We spotted several water gillyflowers growing along the marshy bank.

  • The water gillyflower blooms in early summer.

  • The pond was filled with water gillyflower blooming in early spring.

  • I saw a beautiful water gillyflower by the lake.

  • The pond was filled with water gillyflower blooming in early spring.

  • We spotted several water gillyflowers growing along the marshy bank.

  • I saw a beautiful water gillyflower by the lake.

Synonyms

American featherfoil
vswater gillyflower
  • Specialized
9.9

A water plant that grows in ponds with white flowers and spongy swollen stalks

is a familiar name for the same plant rather than a species label
Hottonia inflata
vswater gillyflower
  • Specialized
9.9

A water plant that grows in shallow ponds with spongy, swollen flower stalks and white flowers

is more specific, identifying it as a particular featherfoil species

Surface Forms

water gillyflower singular
water gillyflowers plural

Morphology

water + gillyflower

This is a straightforward noun–noun compound where 'water' modifies 'gillyflower', so the meaning is simply a gillyflower associated with water (an aquatic or water-growing variety). There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift from the constituent meanings, so a learner who knows both words can predict the referent.

Etymology

Water gillyflower gets its name from a simple picture: water because the plant lives in ponds and marshes, and gillyflower, an old word for a sweet-smelling flower. So the name helps you remember it is a 'plant that grows in water' with soft, spongy flower stalks.