purple sage
- noun
- /ˈpɜrpl seɪdʒ/
- US
:
salvia púrpura
- The bees were attracted to the sweet scent of purple sage blooming in the sunny meadow.
Examples
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In the summer, the garden bursts with the vibrant colors of purple sage and other flowering plants.
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During our hike, we spotted several clusters of purple sage along the trail, adding beauty to the landscape.
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When I drove out west to see the purple sage, then as canyons burned and the mountains crumbled.
Blog text (14) -
When I drove out west to see the purple sage, then as the canyons burned and the mountains crumbled.
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That's purple sage.
Synonyms
A plant with silvery leaves and purple flowers that grows in California
A sage plant from California with silvery leaves and purple flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: a B1 learner who knows 'purple' and 'sage' can infer it refers to a type of sage that is purple or has purple flowers. This follows common descriptive patterns in English and is cross-linguistically transparent, so the overall meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.
Etymology
Purple sage got its name from how it looks: the bright purple flowers and the silvery, fragrant sage-like leaves. So the name points to the sage plant with purple flowers, which is why it means this particular herb.
