cherry laurel
- noun
- /ˈʧɛri ˈlɔrəl/
:
laurel cerezo
- The garden was lined with elegant cherry laurel shrubs, their glossy leaves shining in the sunlight.
Examples
-
For hours, she sat huddled up under a low branch of the cherry laurel, scarcely protected from the snow and biting wind.
Fiction book (1994) -
A set of raccoon prints trails across the street and disappears into some cherry laurel bushes off to the left.
Fiction book (1990) -
Ouida pulled up the kitchen window, which looked into the overgrown cherry laurel trees where grackles were roosting.
Fiction book (1998) -
During the spring, the cherry laurel blooms with beautiful white flowers, enhancing the garden's charm.
-
Children often play hide and seek among the tall cherry laurel trees that provide a lush green backdrop.
Synonyms
An evergreen shrub or small tree with glossy leaves, white flower clusters, and poisonous fruit
A dense evergreen shrub with shiny leaves and white flowers used for hedges
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward noun–noun compound where 'cherry' modifies 'laurel', so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a laurel-like plant associated with cherries (i.e. an evergreen shrub). The meaning follows regular compounding patterns found across languages and does not require idiomatic knowledge, so it is readily derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Cherry laurel is named for how it looks: its shiny leaves are like a laurel, and it makes small dark fruits like a cherry. That's why the name helps you picture an evergreen garden shrub with glossy leaves and pretty white flowers.
