wintergreen
Meaning
a low-growing north american plant with shiny evergreen leaves and small white bell-shaped flowers.
an aromatic oil obtained from the wintergreen plant or from the bark of the sweet birch tree, used as a flavoring and in liniments.
Structure
Usage
the scent of wintergreen filled the air as we hiked through the pine forest.
some chewing gums and candies are flavored with oil of wintergreen.
she applied a wintergreen-scented liniment to soothe her sore muscles.
Etymology
The word 'wintergreen' is a transparent English compound, formed from the Old English words for the season 'winter' and the color 'green'. It is a descriptive name applied to several species of evergreen plants, most notably those in the genus gaultheria, whose leaves remain green throughout the winter. The logic is directly observational, highlighting the plant's most noticeable characteristic—its persistent green foliage during the barren winter months. This straightforward naming convention reflects a common pattern in English for identifying plants by their salient features.
Analysis
winter (from old english 'winter', meaning the coldest season); green (from old english 'grēne', meaning of the color of growing foliage).