Alder

¹ American  

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

noun

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

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alder ² 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 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

They look for hardy alder trees, which indicate an area that had been dug up for mining years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal

It includes familiar names like oak, birch, and alder, alongside less common species such as coast redwood and Corsican pine, which it is hoped will lead to a more resilient woodland.

From BBC

The spacious kitchen is also accented with rich hardwood flooring, stone design elements, solid alder doors, and dual-pane windows.

From MarketWatch

It has been trying to restore the woodlands by introducing downy birch, sessile oak, hazel, willow, aspen and alder as well as endangered tree species such as Arran whitebeam.

From BBC

The researchers looked at how long enveloped and nonenveloped viruses remained infectious on the surface of six types of wood: Scots pine, silver birch, gray alder, eucalyptus, pedunculate oak and Norway spruce.

From Science Daily