swamp locust
- noun
- US
:
algarrobo de pantano
- In the southern wetlands, you can often find the distinctive short pods of the swamp locust.
Examples
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The wood from the swamp locust is prized for its strength and durability.
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The swamp locust tree thrives in wet, low-lying areas.
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Botanists studied the swamp locust to learn more about native swamp ecosystems.
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Many swamp locusts can be found in the southern United States.
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In the southern wetlands, you can often find the distinctive short pods of the swamp locust.
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The wood from the swamp locust is prized for its strength and durability.
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The swamp locust tree thrives in wet, low-lying areas.
Synonyms
A tree that grows in the swamps of the southern United States with short oval pods and dark heavy wood
A swamp tree of the southern United States with short oval seed pods and dark heavy wood called water locust
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a locust (tree) that grows in swamps' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'swamp' (wet lowland) with 'locust' (the tree species), following the common noun–modifier + head compound pattern in English. This compositional structure is cross-linguistically common and would be clear to a B1 learner who knows both constituents (context about trees disambiguates the insect sense of 'locust').
Etymology
Swamp locust comes from a simple picture: it is a locust tree that grows in a swamp and is known for its short oval pods and very hard, dark wood. So today the name means 'a locust tree found in swampy places'.
