wild lily of the valley
- noun
:
muguete silvestre
- The wild lily of the valley blooms early in the spring, filling the forest with its sweet fragrance.
Examples
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Hikers in northern forests often come across patches of wild lily of the valley along shaded paths.
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She planted wild lily of the valley in her garden to enjoy its delicate scent every year.
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The wild lily of the valley blooms beautifully in spring.
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Have you seen the wild lilies of the valley in the garden?
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Hikers in northern forests often come across patches of wild lily of the valley along shaded paths.
-
The wild lily of the valley blooms early in the spring, filling the forest with its sweet fragrance.
-
She planted wild lily of the valley in her garden to enjoy its delicate scent every year.
Synonyms
2
5.3
A small garden plant with broad leaves and white bell-shaped flowers that smell sweet
An evergreen plant with round leaves and fragrant creamy-white flowers
A low plant with two leaves, small sweet white bell-shaped flowers and poisonous red berries
A small plant with white bell-shaped flowers that smell sweet
Surface Forms
Morphology
wild + lily + of + the + valley
The phrase is fully compositional: 'lily of the valley' names a particular type of lily and the adjective 'wild' simply indicates it grows untamed, so a learner who knows 'wild', 'lily' and 'valley' can infer it is a wild-growing lily. The adjective + noun structure and literal meanings follow normal English composition patterns (and similar patterns cross-linguistically), making the meaning directly derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Wild lily of the valley comes from a simple picture: wild because it grows by itself, lily because its tiny white, bell-shaped flowers look like little lilies, and valley because it often grows in low, shaded places. That's why the name now means this fragrant evergreen plant with creamy-white flowers.