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Glite Dictionary
honey bell

honey bell

9.9
A small African shrub with long hanging stems and yellow flowers that smell sweet
  • noun
  • South African
translation icon : campana de miel
  • In spring, the honey bell flowers release a sweet fragrance throughout the yard.

Examples

  • The garden was filled with beautiful honey bells that attract many bees.

  • We admired the delicate petals of the honey bell as they swayed in the warm breeze.

  • blooming honey bells in the shade

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

Mahernia verticillata
vshoney bell
  • Specialized
9.9

A small bush with trailing stems and thin yellow flowers that smell like honey

describes them as produced by the plant rather than merely observed
Hermannia verticillata
vshoney bell
  • Specialized
9.9

A small African shrub with trailing stems and small yellow flowers that smell like honey

emphasizes flower color first rather than scent
honeybells
vshoney bell
  • South African
9.9

A shrub from Africa with low stems and thin yellow flowers that smell like honey

treats flowering as a general feature rather than occasional

Surface Forms

honey bell singular
honey bells plural

Morphology

honey + bell

The noun is a straightforward compound: 'honey' describes a sweet/honey-like quality (scent or color) and 'bell' denotes a bell-shaped form, so the plant name literally points to honey-scented, bell-shaped flowers. This compositional pattern (modifier + shape noun) is common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both words would reasonably infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Honey bell is named for its sweet scent and its small, hanging flowers that look like little bells. The word honey points to the 'sweet smell' and bell points to the 'bell-shaped' flowers, so the name fits this yellow, fragrant shrub.