shepherd's clock
Definition
Noun: 1. A common name for the dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): A weedy European plant with bright yellow flowers and a globular head of seeds with a feathery pappus. The name "shepherd's clock" refers to the folk belief that the flower opens and closes at specific, regular times, like a clock.
Usage Notes
- "Shepherd's clock" is a regional and somewhat archaic common name. The standard common name is dandelion.
- It is primarily used in a botanical or folkloric context to describe this specific plant and its time-keeping association.
- It functions as a countable noun (e.g., , ).
Examples
- The field was dotted with the bright yellow of shepherd's clocks.
- According to old tales, you could tell the time by watching a shepherd's clock open its flowers.
- The children blew on the white, fluffy seed head of the shepherd's clock.
Advanced Usage
- The name is an example of a folk etymology or country name, reflecting how rural communities named plants based on observed characteristics (in this case, the opening/closing of flowers) rather than scientific taxonomy.
Variants and Related Words
- Dandelion (n): The standard common name for the same plant ().
- Blowball (n): Another folk name for the dandelion, referring to its spherical seed head.
- Piss-a-bed (n): A vulgar old folk name, referring to the plant's diuretic properties.
Synonyms
- Dandelion
- Lion's tooth (a translation of the French )
- Wild endive
Related Idioms or Phrases
- To tell the shepherd's clock: A very rare, almost obsolete phrase meaning to observe the dandelion flowers to guess the time. (e.g., )
Noun
-
weedy European annual with yellow flowers; naturalized in United States
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