maple

[mey-puh l]

noun

any of numerous trees or shrubs of the genus Acer, species of which are grown as shade or ornamental trees, for timber, or for sap.Compare maple family.

the wood of any such tree.

the flavor of maple syrup or maple sugar.

Bowling Slang. pin(def 12).

Origin of maple

before 900; Middle English mapel, Old English mapul-, in mapultrēow, mapulder maple tree, cognate with Old Saxon mapulder

Related formsma·ple·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for maple

Contemporary Examples of maple

“Treat every crime as if the victim were your mother,” Maple would say.
Eric Garner Was Just a Number to Them
Michael Daly
December 5, 2014
Sally ate it with maple syrup; at home we ate the store-bought kind with ketchup.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’
Eileen Cronin
April 8, 2014
Back in New York, Maple fell ill with cancer and died in 2001 at the age of 48.
My Patrol With the NYPD’s Bill Bratton
Michael Daly
March 14, 2014
Bratton later suggested that a statue of Maple should be erected in Times Square.
My Patrol With the NYPD’s Bill Bratton
Michael Daly
March 14, 2014
His voice carried no hint that he felt he—or even he and Maple–deserved credit for the transformation.
My Patrol With the NYPD’s Bill Bratton
Michael Daly
March 14, 2014

Historical Examples of maple

Beat the eggs, add the maple sirup, and add this to the milk.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4
Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
I know the beech and the maple, and some kinds of oak, but there my wood lore ends.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
The monument was dedicated July 28th, 1867, at the maple grove, in the park.
Cleveland Past and Present
Maurice Joblin
Lay a young birch or maple an inch or so in diameter across a log.
The Forest
Stewart Edward White
One and a half cups of maple syrup, and one-fourth of a cup of vinegar.
Harper's Young People, July 13, 1880
Various

British Dictionary definitions for maple

maple

noun

any tree or shrub of the N temperate genus Acer, having winged seeds borne in pairs and lobed leaves: family Aceraceae

the hard close-grained wood of any of these trees, used for furniture and flooring

the flavour of the sap of the sugar maple

Word Origin for maple

C14: from Old English mapel-, as in mapeltrēow maple tree

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for maple

c.1300, from Old English mapultreow "maple tree," also mapolder, mapuldre, related to Old Norse möpurr, Old Saxon mapulder, Middle Low German mapeldorn, from Proto-Germanic *maplo-. There also was a Proto-Germanic *matlo- (cf. Old High German mazzaltra, German maszholder), but the connection and origins are mysterious. Formerly with adjectival form mapelin (early 15c.; Old English mapuldern). Maple syrup attested from 1824, American English. The maple leaf is mentioned as the emblem of Canada from 1850.