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Glite Dictionary
elf cup

elf cup

9.9
A small bright red mushroom shaped like a cup that grows on the forest floor
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : taza de elfo
  • We discovered a cluster of elf cups growing on the damp forest floor.

Examples

  • The distinctive red color of the elf cup makes it easy to spot among the leaves.

  • Photographers often seek out the elf cup because of its unusual appearance and bright hue.

  • Look at that stunning elf cup over there!

  • I found an elf cup in the woods.

  • The distinctive red color of the elf cup makes it easy to spot among the leaves.

  • We discovered a cluster of elf cups growing on the damp forest floor.

  • Photographers often seek out the elf cup because of its unusual appearance and bright hue.

Synonyms

Peziza coccinea
vself cup
  • Specialized
9.9

A bright red cup-shaped fungus found on woodland ground in spring

is the general small brightly colored cup fungus in that family
fairy cup
vself cup
  • UK
9.9

A small bright red mushroom with a cup-shaped body

is the scientific family term rather than this common name
blood cup
vself cup
  • UK
9.9

A small bright red mushroom with a cup-shaped body that grows in woods

is the scientific family term rather than this colloquial label
Peziza
vself cup
  • Specialized
9.9

A kind of fungus with a cup-shaped body that grows on rotting wood or soil

is a small brightly colored cup fungus not the whole genus

Surface Forms

elf cup singular
elf cups plural

Morphology

elf + cup

The noun compound is compositionally interpretable: 'elf' evokes something small/folkloric and 'cup' signals a cup-shaped form, so a learner who knows both words would plausibly infer a small cup-like object. However, the specific taxonomic meaning 'a small, brightly colored cup-shaped fungus' (family Pezizaceae) is not directly predictable from the parts at B1 level, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The name elf cup may come from old stories because the small, bright fungus looks like a tiny cup an elf or 'fairy' could use. So the name now means 'a small, brightly colored cup-shaped fungus'.