sweet flag
1
9.8
- noun
- /swit flæɡ/
- In the garden, the sweet flag provides a lush backdrop with its tall, green foliage.
- variegated sweet flag
Examples
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Bees are attracted to the fragrant roots of the sweet flag, which thrive near marshy areas.
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The sweet flag's flaring bud already,
Fiction book (1994) -
Common plants include sweet flag, water plantain, purple avens, blue iris, marsh marigold, sundrops, water smartweed, and several kinds of white-flowered aster.
Academic text (1998) -
The sweet flag grows abundantly in wetlands, its sword-shaped leaves rising above the water.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A marsh plant with a sweet root used in medicine and flavoring
1
9.6
A marsh plant with long leaves and sweet-smelling roots used for flavoring and medicine
1
9.6
A marsh plant with long swordlike leaves and fragrant roots used in medicine
A marsh plant with long swordlike leaves and fragrant roots
A plant that grows in wet places with long pointed leaves and strong smelling roots
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'sweet' (aromatic) modifying 'flag' (a type of plant), so the meaning 'an aromatic plant' is directly derivable from the parts. This follows normal English compounding patterns and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent senses.
Etymology
The plant name sweet flag comes from two simple words: sweet for the plant's pleasant root smell and flag from an old word for a 'reed' or long leaf. Because this marsh plant has long leaves and a sweet-smelling root, sweet flag now means that aromatic wetland plant.