sweet woodruff
- noun
- The lilacs that grow near the porch are close to blooming, and there are flowers on the sweet woodruff in the border.
- sweet woodruff plant
Examples
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The delicate white flowers of sweet woodruff add charm to any garden.
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Sweet woodruff is often used as a fragrant ground cover in shaded gardens.
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You can infuse drinks with the aromatic flavor of sweet woodruff for a unique twist.
Synonyms
A small woodland plant with white flowers and a sweet smell
A small plant that grows near the ground with white flowers that smell sweet
A fragrant ground cover plant with white flowers that people use to flavor wine or scent clothes
A small green plant with a sweet smell often used to flavor drinks and as a ground cover
How Fragrant
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun combination: 'sweet' (pleasantly scented or tasting) modifies 'woodruff' (a fragrant plant), so the overall meaning of a sweet-smelling/flavoring plant is directly derivable. This compositional, descriptive pattern is cross-linguistically common and would be predictable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Sweet woodruff gets its name from two simple images: sweet for its strong, pleasant smell, and woodruff as an old name for small plants that grow in the woods. So the name helps you remember it as a fragrant plant often used as 'ground cover' and to flavor drinks.