Christmas star
- noun
- /ˈkrɪs·məs stɑr/
- US
- Every year, my grandmother decorates her house with a beautiful Christmas star in the living room.
Examples
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The Christmas star adds a festive touch to our home.
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The vivid red leaves of the Christmas star brighten up homes during the holiday season.
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Before the party, we placed a large Christmas star near the entrance to welcome our guests.
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Many people buy Christmas stars to decorate their living rooms.
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The bright red leaves of the Christmas star added a festive touch to our holiday decorations.
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She decorated her living room with a beautiful Christmas star to celebrate the season.
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Every year, we buy a Christmas star to bring color and joy to our home during the holidays.
Synonyms
A tropical plant with bright red leaves that people put on tables at Christmas
A tropical American shrub with poisonous milky sap and bright red leaf-like parts around small yellow flowers
A tropical plant with bright red leaves and poisonous milky sap
A tropical American plant with poisonous sap and bright red leaf-like bracts surrounding small yellow flowers
A tropical plant from the Americas with poisonous white sap and bright red parts around small yellow flowers
A plant with red leaves like a poinsettia that people use to decorate at Christmas
How Showy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The parts 'Christmas' and 'star' cue a festive, decorative notion and possibly a star-like shape, so a learner could guess it refers to a Christmas-related ornament or object. However, the specific botanical sense (poinsettia plant) is a conventionalized name and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Christmas star is a name for the poinsettia plant because its bright red leaves make a star-like shape, and one popular story says this shape reminded people of the 'Christmas star' that guided the Wise Men. That's why the plant became a common 'decoration' at Christmas.