American elder
- noun
- /əˈmɛrɪkən ˈɛldər/
- Specialized
:
saúco americano
- You can identify the American elder by its large clusters of tiny white flowers and deeply serrated leaves.
Examples
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The American elder produces berries in late summer that are often used for making jam.
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My grandmother used American elder berries to make her famous homemade wine.
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The American elder produces beautiful clusters of berries.
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Many people enjoy making jelly from American elder berries.
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My grandmother used American elder berries to make her famous homemade wine.
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The American elder produces berries in late summer that are often used for making jam.
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Many people enjoy making jelly from American elder berries.
Synonyms
A North American bush that makes dark purple berries used to make wine and jam
A North American bush that people use to make jam and wine from its purple-black berries
A shrub with clusters of dark purple berries used to make jam, syrup or wine
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'a species of elder shrub native to America' is directly and compositionally derived from 'American' (from the Americas) + 'elder' (a Sambucus shrub). This adjective+noun botanical naming pattern is descriptive and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
American elder names a common North American shrub with large clusters of dark berries. People have long picked those berries to make 'wine' and 'jam', so the name brings to mind the berry clusters and home cooking.
