Library / English Dictionary

MAPLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of numerous trees or shrubs of the genus Acer bearing winged seeds in pairs; north temperate zone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("maple" is a kind of...):

angiospermous tree; flowering tree (any tree having seeds and ovules contained in the ovary)

Meronyms (substance of "maple"):

maple (wood of any of various maple trees; especially the hard close-grained wood of the sugar maple; used especially for furniture and flooring)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "maple"):

Acer palmatum; Japanese maple (ornamental shrub or small tree of Japan and Korea with deeply incised leaves; cultivated in many varieties)

Acer saccharinum; silver maple (a common North American maple tree; five-lobed leaves are light green above and silvery white beneath; source of hard close-grained but brittle light-brown wood)

Acer saccharum; rock maple; sugar maple (maple of eastern and central North America having three-lobed to five-lobed leaves and hard close-grained wood much used for cabinet work especially the curly-grained form; sap is chief source of maple syrup and maple sugar; many subspecies)

Acer rubrum; red maple; scarlet maple; swamp maple (maple of eastern and central America; five-lobed leaves turn scarlet and yellow in autumn)

Acer pennsylvanicum; goosefoot maple; moose-wood; moosewood; striped dogwood; striped maple (maple of eastern North America with striped bark and large two-lobed leaves clear yellow in autumn)

Acer macrophyllum; big-leaf maple; Oregon maple (maple of western North America having large 5-lobed leaves orange in autumn)

Acer glabrum; dwarf maple; Rocky-mountain maple (small maple of northwestern North America)

Acer spicatum; mountain alder; mountain maple (small shrubby maple of eastern North America; scarlet in autumn)

Acer circinatum; vine maple (small maple of northwestern North America having prostrate stems that root freely and form dense thickets)

Acer campestre; field maple; hedge maple (shrubby Eurasian maple often used as a hedge)

Acer platanoides; Norway maple (a large Eurasian maple tree naturalized in North America; five-lobed leaves yellow in autumn; cultivated in many varieties)

Acer pseudoplatanus; great maple; scottish maple; sycamore (Eurasian maple tree with pale grey bark that peels in flakes like that of a sycamore tree; leaves with five ovate lobes yellow in autumn)

Acer negundo; ash-leaved maple; box elder (common shade tree of eastern and central United States)

Acer argutum; pointed-leaf maple (small shrubby Japanese plant with leaves having 5 to 7 acuminate lobes; yellow in autumn)

Acer japonicum; full moon maple; Japanese maple (leaves deeply incised and bright red in autumn; Japan)

Holonyms ("maple" is a member of...):

Acer; genus Acer (type genus of the Aceraceae; trees or shrubs having winged fruit)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Wood of any of various maple trees; especially the hard close-grained wood of the sugar maple; used especially for furniture and flooring

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("maple" is a kind of...):

wood (the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "maple"):

bird's-eye maple (maple wood having a wavy grain with eyelike markings)

Holonyms ("maple" is a substance of...):

maple (any of numerous trees or shrubs of the genus Acer bearing winged seeds in pairs; north temperate zone)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Understory trees such as striped maples grow beneath the forest canopy and may become unhealthy for many reasons: insects chew on them, deer use them for antler rubs, large trees fall on them during storms, and drought can affect them.

(Striped maple trees often change mating types, with females more likely to die, National Science Foundation)