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tall buttercup

tall buttercup

8.3
A wild plant with tall stems and bright yellow flowers
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : ranúnculo alto
  • The field was filled with blooming tall buttercup plants in early spring.

Examples

  • Gardeners often remove tall buttercup because it can spread rapidly and outcompete native species.

  • The tall buttercup blooms in spring.

  • As a child, she liked to pick wild tall buttercup flowers from the meadow.

  • I saw a beautiful tall buttercup in the field.

  • The field was filled with blooming tall buttercup plants in early spring.

  • As a child, she liked to pick wild tall buttercup flowers from the meadow.

  • Gardeners often remove tall buttercup because it can spread rapidly and outcompete native species.

Synonyms

Ranunculus acris
vstall buttercup
  • Specialized
9.9

A common yellow buttercup that grows in meadows in Europe and North America

is the everyday name rather than the formal scientific label
meadow buttercup
vstall buttercup
  • UK
6.0

A wildflower with bright yellow spring flowers found in meadows

is a general name focused on plant form rather than habitat
tall field buttercup
vstall buttercup
  • UK
6.8

A tall wild plant with bright yellow spring flowers that can poison farm animals

refers more broadly to plants naturalized across North America
tall crowfoot
vstall buttercup
  • UK
9.9

A European wild flower that comes back every year with bright yellow spring flowers

refers to the species across North America generally
common buttercup
vstall buttercup
4.2

A wild plant with bright yellow cup-shaped flowers

is specific to the European species widely naturalized in North America

Surface Forms

Morphology

tall + buttercup

The meaning is directly derivable from the adjective 'tall' (higher in stature) modifying 'buttercup' (a yellow, cup-like flower): it simply denotes a taller-than-typical buttercup. This is a standard adjective+noun composition common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would understand the MWE.

Etymology

Tall buttercup comes from a simple picture: buttercup names the small, bright yellow flowers that look like a little 'cup' of butter, and tall shows this species grows higher than other buttercups. So the name means a taller kind of the yellow 'buttercup'.