bastard yellowwood
- noun
- South African
:
madera amarilla bastard
- Carpenters value the wood of the bastard yellowwood for its durability and color.
Examples
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The bastard yellowwood is often found in the coastal forests of South Africa.
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Botanists are studying how climate change affects the growth of bastard yellowwood trees.
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The bastard yellowwood tree is quite common in South Africa.
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Many furniture makers prefer bastard yellowwood for its durability.
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Carpenters value the wood of the bastard yellowwood for its durability and color.
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The bastard yellowwood is often found in the coastal forests of South Africa.
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Botanists are studying how climate change affects the growth of bastard yellowwood trees.
Synonyms
A medium tree from South Africa that has yellow wood and people use for furniture and gardens
A South African tree or shrub with a rounded crown and strong, beautiful wood
A tree or shrub from southern Africa with strong yellow wood used for furniture
A South African tree with smooth bark and evergreen leaves used for furniture and gardens
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun-noun compound is compositionally interpretable: a learner who knows 'yellowwood' (trees with yellowish wood) and 'bastard' (impure/hybrid or false) can infer this is a type or variant of yellowwood, likely a less 'true' or hybrid yellowwood. Botanical uses of 'bastard' to mark a hybrid/variant are relatively transparent cross-linguistically, so the basic meaning is recoverable from the constituents.
Etymology
The noun bastard yellowwood may come from a simple idea: bastard was used to mean 'not the true kind', and yellowwood describes its yellowish wood. So the name paints the picture of a tree that looks like a true yellowwood but is a different species.
