Virginia cowslip
- noun
- /vərˈdʒɪnɪə ˈkaʊslɪp/
- Specialized
:
cowslip de Virginia
- You can spot Virginia cowslip growing in moist, shady areas along streams.
Examples
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Gardeners often plant Virginia cowslip for its attractive blue flowers.
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The woods were filled with blooming Virginia cowslip in early spring.
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The Virginia cowslip blooms beautifully in spring.
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I saw a Virginia cowslip in the garden.
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Gardeners often plant Virginia cowslip in their gardens for its attractive blue flowers.
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In early spring, the woods are filled with clusters of blooming Virginia cowslip.
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You can find Virginia cowslip growing in moist, shady areas near streams.
Synonyms
A small spring wildflower with smooth leaves and blue bell-shaped flowers that are pink as buds
A spring flower with blue bell-shaped blooms that are pink as buds
Surface Forms
Morphology
Virginia + cowslip
This is a straightforward place-name + species compound: the meaning is simply a cowslip associated with Virginia (i.e., a type/variety of cowslip native to or found in Virginia). The semantic relation is fully compositional, so learners who know both constituents can derive the meaning, though the specialist noun 'cowslip' itself may be low-frequency and unfamiliar to many learners.
Etymology
Virginia cowslip gets its name from the place Virginia and the old flower name cowslip. People long ago called small primrose-like flowers 'cowslips' because they often grew in fields where cows ate the grass, so the name helps you remember it is a wild primrose-like plant from Virginia with pretty blue flowers.
