vegetable sheep
- noun
- New Zealand
:
oveja vegetal
- The vegetable sheep is native to New Zealand and is known for its dense, woolly leaves.
Examples
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From a distance, the vegetable sheep dotting the hillside resemble grazing animals.
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The vegetable sheep is native to New Zealand.
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During the hike, we spotted a rare vegetable sheep nestled among the rocks.
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Scientists study the vegetable sheep to understand how plants adapt to harsh alpine environments.
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Look at that vegetable sheep over there!
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From a distance, the vegetable sheep dotting the hillside resemble grazing animals.
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During the hike, we spotted a rare vegetable sheep nestled among the rocks.
Synonyms
A small low plant with soft silvery leaves that forms flat mats
A low plant from New Zealand that forms a mat and looks like a small round sheep
A small New Zealand plant with thick hairy leaves that form mats on the ground
Surface Forms
Morphology
Knowing 'vegetable' (plant) and 'sheep' (animal), a B1 learner can plausibly infer the phrase refers to a plant that resembles a sheep—noun+noun composition often signals resemblance or association. However, the compound is uncommon and potentially ambiguous (could be misread as a sheep made of vegetables or a plant eaten by sheep), so the exact sense is only partly predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Vegetable sheep comes from a plant in New Zealand whose thick, woolly leaves form a round shape that from far away looks like a small sheep. So the words vegetable (a plant) and sheep (an animal) were joined to name this plant that 'looks like a sheep'.
