deer grass

8.5

A plant that lives for many years with pink or purple flowers in eastern North America

noun

: hierba ciervo

The deer grass in the meadow bloomed in shades of magenta throughout the summer.

Examples

We identified several varieties of deer grass during our hike in the national park.
Gardeners often plant deer grass to attract pollinators to their yards.
The deer grass blooms beautifully in the spring.
Many gardeners love deer grasses for their vibrant colors.
The deer grass in the meadow bloomed in shades of magenta throughout the summer.
We identified several varieties of deer grass during our hike in the national park.
Gardeners often plant deer grass to attract pollinators to their yards.

Synonyms

Rhexia

vsdeer grass

Specialized

9.9

A group of flowering plants with pink flowers that grow in wet places in North America

is the common name for species in that genus rather than the formal genus name

meadow beauty

vsdeer grass

9.1

A wildflower from North America with pink to purple flowers that grows in wet meadows

is a common name used for plants in wet fields rather than the genus term

Surface Forms

deer grass singular

deer grasses plural

Morphology

deer + grass

This is a straightforward noun–noun compound where 'deer' modifies 'grass', so a learner who knows both words will readily infer it refers to a kind of grass associated with deer (e.g., eaten by or found near deer). Although the entry gives a specific botanical genus, the general meaning 'a type of grass' is transparently derived from the constituents and follows common compounding patterns cross-linguistically.

Etymology

Deer grass may come from the simple image of deer eating or walking through fields of this plant. People often saw deer near these meadow plants, so the words deer and grass were put together to name this kind of meadow flower we call 'deer grass' today.