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goatsfoot

goatsfoot

9.9
A short plant from South Africa with blue flowers and leaves shaped like a goat's hoof
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : pie de cabra
  • The goatsfoot thrives in dry, sandy soils throughout South Africa.

Examples

  • Botanists studied the distinctive bluish flowers of the goatsfoot during their field research.

  • Gardeners sometimes cultivate goatsfoot for its unique appearance and drought resistance.

  • Look at that goatsfoot!

  • I love goatsfoot.

  • Botanists studied the distinctive bluish flowers of the goatsfoot during their field research.

  • Gardeners sometimes cultivate goatsfoot for its unique appearance and drought resistance.

  • The goatsfoot thrives in dry, sandy soils throughout South Africa.

Synonyms

goat's foot
vsgoatsfoot
  • South African
9.9

A small South African plant with bluish flowers and leaves shaped like a goat's foot

is the same name but written without a possessive apostrophe
Oxalis caprina
vsgoatsfoot
  • Specialized
9.9

A small plant from South Africa with blue flowers

is the common name used in everyday speech rather than the scientific term

Surface Forms

goatsfoot singular
goatsfeet plural

Morphology

goatsfoot = goat + foot (transparent) = goat + foot

The compound describes a plant with leaves shaped like a goat's foot, a meaning that an average learner can infer from 'goat' + 'foot'.

Etymology

The word goatsfoot is just the simple parts goat and foot, used because the plant's leaves look 'hoof-shaped' like a goat's foot. That's why the name fits this short-stemmed South African plant with bluish flowers and makes it easy to remember.