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Glite Dictionary
fig marigold

fig marigold

9.9
A small plant from South Africa with bright pink or white flowers often grown in gardens
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : maravilla de higuera
  • She planted several fig marigolds along the garden path for a splash of color.

Examples

  • The florist recommended fig marigold as a drought-tolerant choice for sunny borders.

  • The vibrant fig marigold brightened up the rock garden with its colorful blossoms.

  • The fig marigold blooms beautifully in spring.

  • I bought a fig marigold for my garden.

  • She planted several fig marigolds along the garden path for a splash of color.

  • The vibrant fig marigold brightened up the rock garden with its colorful blossoms.

  • The florist recommended fig marigold as a drought-tolerant choice for sunny borders.

Synonyms

pebble plant
vsfig marigold
  • South African
9.8

Small plant from South Africa with round leaves like stones and pink or white flowers

emphasizes showy cultivated blooms rather than a stone-like appearance
Mesembryanthemum
vsfig marigold
  • Specialized
9.9

A South African plant that lives one or two years and opens its flowers in bright sunlight

names cultivated varieties grown for showy pink or white blooms, not the whole genus
genus Mesembryanthemum
vsfig marigold
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of South African plants with flowers that open only in bright sunlight

names cultivated varieties grown for showy pink or white blooms, not the whole genus

Surface Forms

fig marigold singular
fig marigolds plural

Morphology

fig + marigold

This is a straightforward noun–noun compound where 'marigold' names a flower and 'fig' modifies it, so a learner who knows both words will infer it denotes a kind of plant/flower (likely with some fig-like association). The meaning follows regular compounding patterns in English and is therefore immediately interpretable by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Fig marigold may come from a simple picture: one popular story says its thick, round leaves look a bit like small fig leaves and its bright flowers look like tiny marigolds, so people joined the two words to name the plant. So today the name means 'a low, colorful garden plant'.