fragrant orchid
- noun
- UK
- We spotted several fragrant orchids blooming along the hiking trail in June.
Examples
-
The fragrant orchid is often admired for its lovely scent and beautiful colors in wild meadows.
-
The fragrant orchid blooms beautifully in the spring.
-
Gardeners appreciate the fragrant orchid for its vibrant flowers and sweet aroma.
-
Look at that beautiful fragrant orchid!
-
Gardeners appreciate the fragrant orchid for its vibrant flowers and sweet aroma.
-
The fragrant orchid is often admired for its lovely scent and beautiful colors in wild meadows.
-
We spotted several fragrant orchids blooming along the hiking trail in June.
Synonyms
A wild European orchid with tall spikes of sweet-smelling pink or purple flowers, each having a long spur
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an orchid that emits a pleasant smell' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'fragrant' (having a pleasant fragrance) with 'orchid' (a flowering plant). This adjective-noun compositional pattern is standard and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Fragrant orchid comes from a simple idea: the word fragrant means 'smelling sweet' and orchid is the flower, because this plant has a strong sweet scent that helps attract insects. That's why the name means a kind of orchid known for its lovely scent.