poinsettia

«poinsettia» in Mova's school dictionary: A plant from Mexico with large bright red (or pink or… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a poinsettia, poinsettias)

meaning for a pupil

A plant from Mexico with large bright red (or pink or white) leaves around small yellow flowers, popular at Christmas. tree →

sense in the lessons

An everyday and festive word: poinsettias decorate homes, churches and shops at Christmas. In science lessons, the red parts are not petals but special leaves called bracts. Named after Joel Poinsett, a US ambassador to Mexico.

examples

• We bought a poinsettia for the Christmas table. tree →
• The red parts of a poinsettia are leaves, not petals. tree →
• Poinsettias come from Mexico. tree →
• The church was decorated with red poinsettias. tree →
• Keep a poinsettia warm and away from draughts. tree →
• In Mexico the poinsettia is called the Christmas Eve flower. tree →

note

Countable. Spelling trap: p-o-i-n-s-e-t-t-i-a; many people say «poin-SET-a». A myth: poinsettias are often said to be deadly to children and pets; they can cause an upset stomach or skin rash but are not deadly. Still, do not eat them.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «poinsettia» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.