red dogwood
- noun
:
cornisca roja
- The red dogwood in my garden has beautiful white flowers every spring.
Examples
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The landscaping featured several red dogwood shrubs that brightened up the pathway.
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We planted a red dogwood to add some color to our backyard during the winter months.
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In winter, they chew on the buds and twigs of willow, aspen, red dogwood, and balsam fir.
Academic text (2009)
Synonyms
11
5.9
A small tree or shrub that has showy flowers in spring and colorful stems
1
4.5
A small tree with bright white or pink flowers in clusters
A shrub with red stems and small white flowers often growing near streams
A North American shrub with red branches and white flowers
A small North American tree grown in gardens for its white spring flowers and red berries
A North American shrub with red stems and small white flowers
A bush with reddish-purple twigs and white flowers that grows near wet ground
A European bush that loses its leaves and has red stems and small white flowers
A European bush that turns red in autumn and has white flowers
A European shrub that loses its leaves and has dull white flowers and red leaves in autumn
A European bush that loses its leaves, turns red in autumn, and has dull white flowers
A small tree from Europe with red stems and clusters of white flowers
A bush with purplish stems and blue berries often growing near water
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently compositional: 'red' simply specifies the color of the noun 'dogwood' (a type of shrub/tree). This adjective+noun pattern is a standard, cross-linguistically common modifier construction, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Red dogwood gets its name from the older word dogwood, which one popular story says came from 'dagwood', meaning wood used for small sticks and tools. People noticed its bright red stems, so red dogwood now names the decorative bush with red twigs and white flowers.