western ladies' tresses
- noun
- /ˈwɛstərn ˈleɪdiz ˈtrɛsɪz/
- Specialized
:
trenzas de dama del oeste
- The western ladies' tresses is noted for its delicate, spiral arrangement of white flowers.
Examples
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We found a patch of western ladies' tresses blooming along the riverbank last spring.
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The western ladies' tresses bloom in late summer.
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Botanists study western ladies' tresses to understand its relationship to other North American orchids.
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Have you seen the western ladies' tresses in the garden?
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The western ladies' tresses is known for its beautiful white flowers spiraling around the stem.
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During our hike, we discovered a cluster of western ladies' tresses growing in a shaded area.
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She was excited to photograph the rare western ladies' tresses she found while exploring the wilderness.
Synonyms
A type of orchid from western North America with small white flowers in a spiral
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase components are partly interpretable: 'tress' (a lock of hair) and 'ladies'' suggest a hair‑like or braided appearance, and 'western' signals a regional variety. However, knowing these words would not reliably lead a B1 learner to identify that the phrase names a specific orchid species, so the meaning is motivated by a visual metaphor but not fully predictable.
Etymology
Western ladies' tresses comes from the way its small white flowers grow in a spiral that looks like a woman's braided hair, so the words ladies' tresses point to 'tresses' meaning 'braided hair'. The word western shows this is the kind found in the west, so the name describes an orchid with spiral white flowers.
