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Glite Dictionary
stinging hair

stinging hair

8.9
A sharp hair on plants like nettles that releases liquid causing a burning feeling when touched
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : pelos urticantes
  • The gardener warned me that the stinging hair of the nettle might give me a rash if I wasn't careful.

Examples

  • The stinging hair of the nettle can cause a painful rash when touched.

  • The petioles are covered with stinging hairs, but Effie's firm grip, as she tears them off, again minimizes the stings' effects.

    Academic text (1995)

  • His 100x image shows a nettle's stinging hair, or trichome, filled with venom.

    Blog text (8)

  • Be careful when picking wild plants, as their stinging hairs can irritate your skin.

Synonyms

trichome
vsstinging hair
  • Specialized
9.6

A small hairlike growth on a plant that protects it or senses things

is a specialized type that injects irritating fluid when touched

Surface Forms

stinging hair singular
stinging hairs plural

Morphology

stinging + hair

The phrase is transparently compositional: 'stinging' (causing a sharp irritating sensation) modifies 'hair' (a fine plant hair), so the meaning "a hair that stings" follows directly from the constituents. This literal, descriptive combination is predictable and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Stinging hair is the name for the tiny, sharp hair on plants such as nettles that breaks at the tip and releases a liquid that gives a 'stinging' or 'burning' feeling when you touch it. That's why the name links the sharp stinging feeling to the actual plant hair.