wood sorrel
- noun
- /wʊd ˈsɔrəl/
:
sorrel de madera
- A little wood sorrel added to sauces and soups can make a big difference.
- the lemony flavor of wood sorrel
Examples
-
He crossed the thin apron of grass at the pool's edge, trampling violets and wood sorrel underfoot.
Fiction book (1992) -
PHOTO: Wood sorrel, Oxalis.
Academic text (1994) -
Soon we were sitting in the promised pool, eating crackers and watching a squadron of bees inspect the blossoms of the pink-veined wood sorrel beneath the trees.
Fiction book (1993) -
You may also want to add wood sorrel to your pot of mixed greens.
-
There's no need to carry lemons in your backpack with wood sorrel available!
Synonyms
2
7.0
A plant with sour green leaves used in salads or cooking
A small forest plant with three heart-shaped leaves and white flowers with purple veins
A small forest plant with three heart-shaped leaves and white flowers with purple veins
A small plant with clover-like leaves and small yellow or pink flowers
A small weed that grows close to the ground with leaves like a clover and small yellow flowers
A small plant with clover-like leaves and purple-pink flowers
A bulb plant with clover-like leaves and bright yellow flowers that spreads like a weed
A South African plant with bulb-like roots and bright yellow flowers
A small bulb plant with bright yellow flowers that often grows as a garden weed in South Africa
A South American plant that people grow for its edible, tangy tubers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly composed from 'wood' (a wooded area) + 'sorrel' (a sour-leaved herb); a B1 learner who knows both constituents would reasonably infer it refers to a sorrel that grows in woods. This compound follows a common English and cross-linguistic noun‑compound pattern, so the sense is immediately derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Wood sorrel may come from a simple picture: the plant grows in wood, meaning woods, and its leaves taste 'sour', so people called it sorrel, an old word for sour-tasting plants. So the name explains why the plant is a small, sour plant you find in the woods.