water oak
1
4.8
- noun
- /ˈwɔːtər oʊk/
- US
:
roble de agua
- The stones leading to our front door are littered with gray-green leaves from the water oaks.
- water oak trees
- two water oaks
Examples
-
Trees and wildflowers stirring, the two water oaks budding, and the grass in the cemetery rising after the storms of winter.
Fiction book (1997) -
Broken sunlight passed through water oaks and hickory trees a hundred feet tall, illuminating the colors of fall.
Fiction book (1996) -
The full moon was caught between two water oaks.
Fiction book (1990) -
The wind had begun to blow the water oak that stood close to the house in front of the circular driveway.
Fiction book (1993) -
We could have Little Sally's wedding reception just like ours, on the porches and in the yard under the magnolias and the big water oaks.
Fiction book (1998) -
Ours survived in what looks like vigorous good health, though I heard the other day that last year's drought was hardest on water oaks and pines.
Blog text (29) -
The same spreading magnolias, water oaks, and pecan trees that Ouida's grandmother had planted now enveloped and dwarfed the shotgun house.
Fiction book (1998) -
No light could filter through the thick surrounding woods, in whose recesses locusts, elms, maples, and water oaks crowded so closely that every sound seemed swallowed by the heavy air.
Fiction book (2000) -
The children enjoyed playing under the shade of the tall water oak on a hot summer day.
-
In the park, a group of water oaks provided a beautiful canopy for picnics and gatherings.
Synonyms
A type of oak tree from the southeastern United States that loses its leaves and grows in wet soil
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'water oak' is a descriptive noun built from 'water' + 'oak' and clearly denotes an oak associated with water or wet soils; a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reasonably infer it is a type of oak that grows in or near water. This modifier+noun naming pattern is common cross-linguistically for plant names, making the meaning transparently compositional.
Etymology
Water oak gets its name from where the tree likes to grow: in wet ground and near rivers. The picture of an oak standing by water makes it easy to remember, so today water oak means 'an oak tree that grows in wet places'.