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Glite Dictionary
saman tree

saman tree

9.2
A large tropical tree with a wide spreading top that gives shade and has pink or white flowers
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : árbol saman
  • The park is famous for its ancient saman tree, which blooms beautifully every spring.

Examples

  • Many people gather under the saman tree to escape the midday sun.

  • The saman tree provides excellent shade in the hot sun.

  • The saman tree in the square creates a cool place to rest during the hot afternoon.

  • Many saman trees line the streets of Bali.

  • On a hot day, we enjoyed a picnic under the shade of the beautiful saman tree.

  • The park was filled with saman trees, their pink flowers creating a stunning display.

  • Children often play around the saman tree because it provides ample shade from the sun.

Synonyms

saman
vssaman tree
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A large tropical tree with wide spreading branches and a big leafy top that gives much shade

is described mainly as a shade tree with pink or white flowers
Albizia saman
vssaman tree
  • Specialized
9.9

A large tropical American tree with feathery leaves and red flowers, often called the rain tree

uses everyday description focusing on wide crown and shade rather than scientific name
rain tree
vssaman tree
  • Specialized
8.6

A large tropical tree with many small leaves, round pink flowers, and seed pods cattle eat

emphasizes shade and pink or white flowers rather than ornamental use and pods

Surface Forms

saman tree singular
saman trees plural

Morphology

saman + tree

This is a directly compositional noun phrase: 'saman' names a particular tree species and 'tree' simply marks it as a tree, so the overall meaning (a saman-type tree) is immediately derivable from the constituents. The noun+noun naming pattern for species or kinds is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand the MWE.

Etymology

Saman tree may come from a local word saman for a very large, wide tree. People often gathered under the wide tree for 'shade' and to enjoy its pink or white flowers, so today the name brings to mind a big, shady flowering tree.