John Muir

4 7.2

An American writer and nature protector who helped create national parks

proper noun
/dʒɒn mjʊr/

: John Muir

The writings of John Muir inspire many conservationists.
John Muir Trail

Examples

The writings of John Muir continue to inspire environmentalists today.
Did John Muir really say that?
John Muir played a crucial role in the creation of Yosemite National Park.
Many parks in the United States honor John Muir for his contributions to conservation.
John Muir was a passionate advocate for the preservation of national parks in the United States.
In his writings, John Muir eloquently described the beauty of the natural world and the importance of protecting it.
Many people credit John Muir with inspiring the modern conservation movement through his work and dedication to nature.

Surface Forms

John Muir main

Morphology

John + Muir

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical individual; knowing the constituent tokens 'John' and 'Muir' does not let a learner infer the biographical meaning or significance. Proper nouns are arbitrary labels that require world knowledge or exposure rather than compositional derivation, so the expression is opaque to a B1 learner.

Etymology

John Muir was a real person, a writer who loved nature and walked in wild places like Yosemite and helped create 'national parks'. Because he spent his life saving wild places, his name now stands for 'protecting nature' and the outdoors.