Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
arctic poppy

arctic poppy

8.1
A small plant that lives for many years and grows in very cold places with pale yellow or white blooms
  • noun
  • /ˈɑrk.tɪk ˈpɑ.pi/
  • UK
translation icon : pavón ártico
  • We admired the pale yellow flowers of the arctic poppy while hiking in northern Alaska.

Examples

  • The arctic poppy blooms early in the summer in the tundra regions.

  • Botanists study how the arctic poppy survives such extreme cold environments.

  • The arctic poppy blooms beautifully in summer.

  • I saw an arctic poppy in the botanical garden.

  • The arctic poppy blooms early in the summer in the tundra regions.

  • We admired the pale yellow flowers of the arctic poppy while hiking in northern Alaska.

  • I saw an arctic poppy in the botanical garden.

Synonyms

Papaver nudicaule
vsarctic poppy
  • Specialized
9.9

A poppy plant that lives for several years with bright, fragrant flowers often called the Iceland poppy

is the wider common term used across both hemispheres rather than scientific species name
Iceland poppy
vsarctic poppy
  • Specialized
6.6

A strong plant with bright, delicate flowers often grown in gardens

is native across both hemispheres and noted for fragrant multicolored flowers

Surface Forms

arctic poppy singular
arctic poppies plural

Morphology

Arctic + poppy

The phrase is fully compositional: 'Arctic' specifies the geographic/climatic origin and 'poppy' names a flowering plant, so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a poppy that grows in Arctic/subarctic regions. This adjective + noun pattern is common cross-linguistically and not idiomatic, so the meaning is immediately transparent despite being a botanical term.

Etymology

Arctic poppy comes from the picture of a small poppy that grows in the arctic and opens its cup-shaped flowers to follow the sun and hold the sun's warmth. So, the name means a poppy that can live in 'very cold' places.