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Glite Dictionary
dusty miller

dusty miller

6.7
A garden plant with soft silvery leaves used for decoration
  • noun
  • /ˈdʌsti ˈmɪlər/
translation icon : miller polvoriento
  • The garden was filled with vibrant flowers and beautiful d dusty miller, which added a lovely silvery touch.
  • dusty miller (Senecio)

Examples

  • There's beautiful day lilies, daisies, peonies, Dusty Miller, just a bunch of beautiful things in this bed.

  • Anyway, there's a pink petunia, silver falls, dichondra, dusty Miller, and geranium that is beautiful and striking.

  • We decided to plant d dusty miller alongside bright marigolds for a striking contrast in our flowerbeds.

  • For a soft, soothing look in your landscaping, consider including d dusty miller as an accent plant.

Synonyms

Centaurea cineraria
vsdusty miller
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant with soft silver leaves often grown in gardens and pots

is more general and focuses on ornamental use rather than botanical classification

Surface Forms

dusty miller singular
dusty millers plural

Morphology

dusty + miller

The adjective 'dusty' transparently suggests a powdery or dust-covered appearance, which aligns with the plant's silvery, powdery foliage. However, 'miller' is an arbitrary lexical element (originally a person or moth) and the compound is a lexicalized plant name, so the full referent 'an ornamental plant with silvery leaves' is only partially predictable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Dusty miller may come from a simple image: a miller who works with white 'flour' would have dusty clothes, and the plant's soft, silvery leaves look like that powder. That's why dusty miller now means a garden plant with pale, silvery leaves.