western crab apple
- noun
- US
- In spring, the western crab apple produces clusters of beautiful, fragrant pink blossoms.
Examples
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The western crab apple grows abundantly along the coastal forests of Oregon and Washington.
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Wildlife often feed on the tart fruit of the western crab apple during autumn.
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The western crab apple blooms beautifully in spring.
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Many gardeners love the western crab apple for its fragrance.
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In spring, the western crab apple produces clusters of beautiful, fragrant pink blossoms.
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Wildlife often feed on the tart fruit of the western crab apple during autumn.
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The western crab apple grows abundantly along the coastal forests of Oregon and Washington.
Synonyms
A wild crab apple tree from the western United States with fragrant pink flowers
A small wild apple tree with fragrant pink spring flowers
A small wild apple tree that grows in the western United States and has fragrant pink flowers
A wild crab apple tree with fragrant pink flowers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The modifier 'western' is fully transparent (meaning from the western region), but the core noun 'crab apple' is a partly lexicalized compound: its meaning ‘a small/wild or sour apple’ is not straightforwardly derived from the animal sense of 'crab' for many learners. Because one constituent is transparent while the compound as a whole may require prior exposure to recover the botanical sense, this is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Western crab apple names a wild, small apple tree from the western United States. The word crab in the name means a small, sour 'apple' and western shows where it grows, so the name helps you picture a tart wild apple with fragrant pink flowers.