Christmas rose
- noun
- /ˈkrɪs·məs roʊz/
- The Christmas rose blooms beautifully in our garden during the winter months.
Examples
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The Christmas rose blooms beautifully in winter.
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The Christmas rose blooms in the middle of winter, brightening many gardens with its delicate flowers.
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Despite its name, the Christmas rose is not a true rose but is cherished for its winter beauty.
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Many people plant the Christmas rose for its beautiful blossoms that appear just in time for the holidays.
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I received a Christmas rose as a gift.
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Many people choose to give Christmas roses as gifts during the holiday season.
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In her garden, she planted several Christmas roses that brought color to the snowy landscape.
Synonyms
An evergreen plant with white or purple flowers that bloom in winter
A European plant that keeps green leaves and has white or purple flowers in winter
An evergreen European plant with leathery leaves and white winter flowers whose parts are poisonous if eaten
How Showy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'Christmas rose' is compositionally clear: 'Christmas' locates it in time/association and 'rose' signals a flower, so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a flower associated with Christmas (i.e. blooms around that time). Although botanically it is a specific plant not a true rose, that fine-grained distinction is not required for basic understanding, so the phrase is transparently interpretable by a B1 learner.
Etymology
The noun Christmas rose is a winter plant whose white flowers look like a small rose and often appear around Christmas. Even though it is 'not a real rose', that clear picture of a rose blooming at Christmas is why people named it the Christmas rose.