wild mustard
1
4.2
- noun
- /waɪld ˈmʌstərd/
:
mostaza silvestre
- It was a clear night, the stars were out, the odor of wild mustard drifted faintly on the air, and the dark woods came down from the hills to the right and left and camped beside the road.
- yellow wild mustard
- wild mustard blooms
Examples
-
The air was warm and dry, and wild mustard and chicory were in bloom on either side of the road.
Fiction book (1992) -
The air was cool near the riffle and smelled of fish and wild mustard.
Fiction book (1997) -
In May, canary-colored dandelions brighten whole hillsides, and a month later, the paler yellow of wild mustard blooms in nearby crop fields.
Academic text (1991) -
In spring, fields are filled with bright yellow wild mustard, often seen as a pest among grain crops.
-
Farmers often struggle with wild mustard, as its seeds can remain viable in the soil for several years.
-
The vibrant flowers of wild mustard can be seen blooming along the roadside during the warmer months.
Synonyms
A common wild plant with yellow flowers that grows in grain fields and harms crops
A wild plant with yellow flowers that grows among crops and is often a weed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a mustard plant growing naturally and often as a weed' is directly and compositionally derived from 'wild' (growing naturally/untamed) + 'mustard' (a plant). This is a literal, cross-linguistically common compound, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The noun wild mustard simply describes a bright yellow plant that grows on its own in fields. The name joins wild (growing in the open) and mustard (a plant like the spice), so it came to mean 'a common weed' that can harm crops.