stinking horehound
- noun
- UK
:
menta de perro
- The stinking horehound plant has distinctive wrinkled leaves and dark purple flowers.
Examples
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Many gardeners avoid planting stinking horehound due to its strong, unpleasant scent.
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The stinking horehound is often found growing along rocky hillsides in southern Europe.
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The herbalist explained the difference between common horehound and stinking horehound to her students.
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The stinking horehound grew wildly in the garden.
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Have you ever seen a stinking horehound plant?
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Many gardeners avoid planting stinking horehound because of its strong, unpleasant scent.
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In the wild, stinking horehound can often be found in areas with poor soil.
Synonyms
A European herb with wrinkled leaves and dark purple flowers that smells unpleasant and is called black horehound
A European herb with wrinkled leaves and dark purple flowers that smell bad
A small herb with wrinkled leaves, dark purple flowers and a strong unpleasant smell
A plant with wrinkled leaves and dark purple flowers that has a strong unpleasant smell
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is a straightforward descriptive composition: 'stinking' (emitting a foul odor) modifies 'horehound' (a specific herb), so the meaning is directly derivable as a horehound that smells bad. This is a compositional, non-idiomatic pattern common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would understand it.
Etymology
The name stinking horehound comes from a simple picture: the herb horehound gives off a very strong, unpleasant smell, so people added stinking as a warning. That's why the name means a 'bad-smelling' horehound herb.
