silverbell tree
- noun
- /ˈsɪlvərˌbɛl tri/
- US
:
árbol de campanas plateadas
- The silverbell tree is often found in parks, providing shade and stunning floral displays.
Examples
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Many birds gather in the branches of the silverbell tree to enjoy its fragrant blooms.
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The silverbell's bell-shaped flowers are much larger than those of other silverbell trees in the southern United States.
Academic text (1993) -
In spring, the silverbell tree blossoms with beautiful white flowers that hang like delicate bells.
Synonyms
A medium-sized tree with white bell-shaped flowers in spring
A medium-sized tree that loses its leaves and has white bell-shaped flowers
A medium-sized tree that loses leaves in winter and has white bell-shaped flowers
A North American tree with white bell-shaped flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
silverbell + tree
The compound 'silverbell tree' is transparently composed from 'silver' + 'bell' + 'tree'; even though 'silverbell' is not listed, a B1 learner who knows 'silver', 'bell' and 'tree' can infer it refers to a tree with bell-shaped, pale/silvery (white) flowers. This follows ordinary noun–noun composition patterns found cross-linguistically, so the meaning is readily deducible from the constituents.
Etymology
The name silverbell tree comes from the tree's small, white, bell-shaped flowers that hang from the branches and look like little silver bells. That's why the name is used for a tree with these lovely, bell-shaped blossoms.
