pinkroot

1 9.9

An illness in onions caused by a fungus that makes roots pink and plants grow poorly

noun

Specialized

: raíz rosa

The farmer noticed pinkroot affecting his onion crop.

Examples

The presence of pinkroot can drastically reduce onion yields if not treated.
Have you seen pinkroots in your garden this year?
Farmers noticed that pinkroot was spreading rapidly through their onion crop.
Proper soil drainage helps prevent pinkroot in newly planted onion fields.
The onion farmer noticed that his crops were affected by pinkroot, causing stunted growth.
After the heavy rain, the pinkroot disease spread quickly through the onion fields, turning the roots pink.
To prevent pinkroot, the gardener applied a special fertilizer to strengthen the onions' roots.

Surface Forms

pinkroot singular

pinkroots plural

Morphology

pinkroot = pink + root (transparent) = pink + root

A straightforward compound meaning 'root that is pink' (here referring to roots turning pink because of the disease), which is directly inferable from its parts.

Etymology

Pinkroot comes from the two English words pink and root, meaning 'pink' and 'root'. It was named because a fungus makes the roots of onions turn pink and stunt the plants, so pinkroot now refers to that disease.