wild hop
- noun
- UK
:
lúpulo silvestre
- The hedgerows were covered in wild hop, its red berries gleaming among the leaves.
Examples
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In some regions, wild hop is valued for its ornamental vines and unique flowers.
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Gardeners often mistake wild hop for the true hop plant used in brewing.
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The wild hop plant grows near the river.
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Have you seen a wild hop before?
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In some regions, wild hop is valued for its ornamental vines and unique flowers.
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The hedgerows were covered in wild hop, its red berries gleaming among the leaves.
-
Gardeners often mistake wild hop for the true hop plant used in brewing.
Synonyms
A climbing plant that grows back every year with small red poisonous berries
A climbing plant with pale green flowers and small red poisonous berries
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'wild' (growing naturally) modifying 'hop' (a hop plant), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a hop plant growing in the wild. The specific botanical details (species name, berries) are extra encyclopedic information but do not prevent the basic meaning from being transparently derivable.
Etymology
Wild hop gets its name from how it looks and grows: its climbing vines resemble the garden hop used for beer, but it grows wild and has bright red berries. So people called it 'wild' to show it is not the 'true hop' used for 'brewing', helping to tell the two plants apart.
