narrow-leaved plantain
- noun
:
plátano de hojas estrechas
- The meadow was dotted with narrow-leaved plantain and wildflowers after the spring rain.
Examples
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Farmers often consider narrow-leaved plantain a persistent weed in their fields.
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Researchers studied how narrow-leaved plantain adapts to different soil types across temperate regions.
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The narrow-leaved plantain grows abundantly in my garden.
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I found a narrow-leaved plantain while hiking in the mountains.
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The meadow was dotted with narrow-leaved plantain and wildflowers after the spring rain.
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Farmers often consider narrow-leaved plantain a persistent weed in their fields.
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Researchers studied how narrow-leaved plantain adapts to different soil types across temperate regions.
Synonyms
A wild plant with long narrow leaves with raised veins that grows in fields and by roads
A small wild plant with long narrow ribbed leaves and a tall flower stalk
A common plant with long narrow leaves that have clear veins
A common wild plant with long narrow ribbed leaves that grows in lawns and roadsides
A common wild plant with long narrow ribbed leaves that grows along roads in cool areas
Surface Forms
Morphology
narrow-leaved + plantain
The meaning 'a plantain species with long, narrow leaves' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'narrow-leaved' (having narrow leaves) with 'plantain' (a low-growing Plantago). This adjective + noun composition follows regular English compounding patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Narrow-leaved plantain is a very literal name: plantain comes from an old word for the 'sole of the foot' because its low, flat leaves looked like a foot and were used to heal wounds, and narrow-leaved simply describes the plant's long, thin leaves. So the name helps you picture the plant as a low-growing plant with long, narrow leaves.
