naked lady
1
9.0
- noun
- /ˈneɪkɪd ˈleɪdi/
:
mujer desnuda
- Every autumn, my mother displays her collection of naked lady flowers in vases around the house.
Examples
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My next-door neighbor has naked ladies all over her front yard, and I hate them every August.
Blog text (28) -
In my garden, the stunning naked lady flowers bloom every summer and attract many bees.
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The naked lady plant, known for its bright pink petals, makes a beautiful addition to any landscape.
Synonyms
1
8.1
A plant that grows from a bulb and makes white or purple flowers in autumn
A bulb plant with pale purple or white flowers that blooms in autumn and is highly poisonous
A plant that has a bulb and makes purple or white flowers in autumn and is poisonous to eat
A plant that grows from a bulb and has large pink or white bell-shaped flowers
A South African plant with large sweet-smelling white or pink flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
naked + lady
This is a conventional plant name whose reference to a flowering bulb is not compositionally derivable from the literal meanings of 'naked' (bare) and 'lady' (a woman); a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely interpret it as an unclothed woman rather than a flower. The botanical sense is lexicalized and culturally specific (a personifying/metaphorical name), so the meaning is unpredictable from the parts.
Etymology
Naked lady comes from the way the flowers appear after the leaves die back; the tall flower stems are bare, so the blooms look naked. That's why gardeners use this name for those showy flowers.