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Glite Dictionary
thorny amaranth

thorny amaranth

9.9
A plant that grows upright and lives one year with pairs of sharp spines at many leaf joints
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : amaranto espinoso
  • The thorny amaranth thrives in dry, sandy soils throughout tropical Africa and central Asia.

Examples

  • Farmers often remove thorny amaranth from their fields because of its sharp spines.

  • Researchers studied the medicinal properties of the thorny amaranth plant.

  • The thorny amaranth grows wild in many tropical regions.

  • Have you seen the thorny amaranth in the garden?

  • Farmers often remove thorny amaranth from their fields because of its sharp spines.

  • The thorny amaranth thrives in dry, sandy soils throughout tropical Africa and central Asia.

  • Researchers studied the medicinal properties of the thorny amaranth plant.

Synonyms

Amaranthus spinosus
vsthorny amaranth
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant that lives one year with spines where leaves meet the stem in tropical fields

focuses on sharp spines arranged in pairs rather than on spine direction

Surface Forms

thorny amaranth singular
thorny amaranths plural

Morphology

thorny + amaranth

The noun phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'thorny' (covered with thorns) modifies 'amaranth' (a plant), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is an amaranth with thorns. This compositional pattern is regular in English (and common across languages), making the meaning predictable and transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The name thorny amaranth is a picture word: amaranth is a plant and thorny shows it has small, sharp spines where the leaves meet the stem. So the name means 'a type of amaranth with thorns', which explains why farmers often remove it from their fields.