crow garlic
- noun
- /kroʊ ˈɡɑːrlɪk/
- UK
:
ajo de cuervo
- The field was dotted with crow garlic swaying in the breeze.
Examples
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I found some crow garlic growing in my backyard.
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The smell of crow garlic is quite strong.
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Farmers sometimes consider crow garlic a troublesome weed in pastures.
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You can smell the strong aroma of crow garlic after the rain.
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Farmers sometimes consider crow garlic a troublesome weed in pastures.
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The field was dotted with crow garlic swaying in the breeze.
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You can smell the strong aroma of crow garlic after the rain.
Synonyms
A wild onion with a strong, sharp smell that grows from bulbs in lawns and fields
A wild plant with a strong onion taste that grows in fields
Surface Forms
Morphology
The head noun 'garlic' supplies the core meaning (a garlic-type plant) and 'crow' functions as a straightforward modifier signaling a variety or association; together they transparently indicate a kind of garlic. While the specific botanical species or reason for the animal modifier isn't predictable, an average B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer it denotes a type of garlic (a wild garlic), so the compound is compositional and immediately comprehensible.
Etymology
The name crow garlic may come from a simple farm picture: one popular story says crows would dig up and eat the plant's small bulbs, so people linked the bird (crow) with the strong-smelling plant (garlic). That's why the name refers to a wild, strong-smelling 'onion' found in fields.
