clinging vine
1
3.6
- noun
- /ˈklɪŋɪŋ vaɪn/
:
planta trepadora
- The clinging vine wrapped itself tightly around the wooden post for support.
Examples
-
Artus pulled a clinging vine off the tombstone.
Fiction book (1992) -
Trees decorated with clinging vines sprang up around the fringes of the pools.
Fiction book (1991) -
She's a clinging vine.
Fiction book (1990) -
Clearing a path, she pushed aside branches and tore away clinging vines with the fierce strength of a battle-crazed warrior.
Fiction book (1996) -
I loved that little building, encased in all those fiercely clinging vines, the way it was almost hidden at the back of your overgrown yard.
Fiction book (2002) -
In the garden, the clinging vine climbed up the trellis, showcasing beautiful flowers.
-
She admired the clinging vine that adorned the old stone wall with its vibrant leaves.
Synonyms
116
1.0
A plant with a long stem that climbs or trails along fences and walls
How Clinging
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a vine that attaches itself to supports' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'cling' (to hold fast) with 'vine' (a twining plant). This is a straightforward compositional noun phrase following normal English word-formation patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Clinging vine comes from the image of a plant that seems to hug a wall or fence: the clinging part shows it 'holds on' with tiny roots or twisty stems, and the vine is the long plant that climbs. That's why the name means a plant that 'attaches itself' to a support to grow upward.