alder

¹ American  

[awl-der] / ˈɔl dər /

noun

1. any shrub or tree belonging to the genus Alnus, of the birch family, growing in moist places in northern temperate or colder regions and having toothed, simple leaves and flowers in catkins.

2. any of various trees or shrubs resembling an alder.

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Alder ² American  

[ahl-der, ahl-duhr] / ˌɑl dər, ˈɑl dər /

noun

1. Kurt 1902–58, German chemist: Nobel Prize 1950.

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alder British  

/ ˈɔːldə /

noun

1. any N temperate betulaceous shrub or tree of the genus Alnus, having toothed leaves and conelike fruits. The bark is used in dyeing and tanning and the wood for bridges, etc because it resists underwater rot

2. any of several similar trees or shrubs

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Etymology

Origin of alder

before 900; Middle English alder, aller, Old English alor, al ( e ) r; cognate with Old Norse ǫlr, Middle Low German al ( l ) er < Germanic *álusṓ; akin to Middle High German alze < Germanic *alū́sō, Old High German elira, erila ( German Erle ) < Germanic *álisṓ, Middle Low German els ( e ) < Germanic *alísō, hence Germanic *álus, alísō; compare Polish olcha, Russian olʾkhá < Indo-European dialect *alisā; Lithuanian al̃ksnis, Latin alnus < Indo-European dialect *alsnos

Example Sentences

Native trees like alder, spruce and rowan are interspersed with hawthorn shrubs.

From BBC

Torak crashed through alder thickets and sank to his knees in bogs.

From Literature

He found three small alders and dragged them, one at a time, to where Abby sat.

From Literature

Mama tried everything: red alder bark tea, hot water with onion juice.

From Literature

He turned the bend by the enormous alder tree, where the swing I’d spent hours in as a child still hung.

From Literature