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tower mustard

tower mustard

9.9
A tall European plant with stiff upright stems and yellow flowers
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : mostaza de torre
  • You can find tower mustard growing along dry, grassy banks in many parts of Europe.

Examples

  • The yellow blossoms of tower mustard appear in early summer.

  • I found a patch of tower mustard in the garden.

  • Conservationists are concerned about the declining populations of tower mustard in the wild.

  • Look at the tower mustard!

  • The yellow blossoms of tower mustard appear in early summer.

  • You can find tower mustard growing along dry, grassy banks in many parts of Europe.

  • Conservationists are concerned about the declining populations of tower mustard in the wild.

Synonyms

Turritis glabra
vstower mustard
  • Specialized
9.9

A tall plant called tower mustard that lives one or two years and has small white flowers

is the tall European plant noted for yellow flowers
Arabis glabra
vstower mustard
  • Specialized
9.9

A tall thin plant with small yellow flowers like wild mustard

is the same species but highlights yellow flowers not general cress traits
tower cress
vstower mustard
  • UK
9.9

A plant in the cabbage family with stems that grow straight up and small white flowers

is the taller European plant with stiff stems and yellow flowers

Surface Forms

tower mustard singular

Morphology

tower + mustard

The compound is a straightforward composition of 'tower' (tall, column-like) + 'mustard' (a mustard plant), so its meaning as a tall mustard-like plant is directly derivable from the parts. This noun–noun compounding pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words would very likely understand the referent without prior exposure.

Etymology

Tower mustard may come from the plant's look: its tall, straight stems are like a tower, and its small yellow flowers look like those of mustard. So the name describes a 'tall' plant with 'yellow' mustard-like flowers.