maple
[mey-puh l]
- 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).
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Origin of maple
before 900; Middle English mapel, Old English mapul-, in mapultrēow, mapulder maple tree, cognate with Old Saxon mapulder
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for maple
Contemporary Examples
“Treat every crime as if the victim were your mother,” Maple would say.
Sally ate it with maple syrup; at home we ate the store-bought kind with ketchup.
Back in New York, Maple fell ill with cancer and died in 2001 at the age of 48.
Bratton later suggested that a statue of Maple should be erected in Times Square.
His voice carried no hint that he felt he—or even he and Maple–deserved credit for the transformation.
Historical Examples
Beat the eggs, add the maple sirup, and add this to the milk.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4Woman'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 AlarmsRobert Barr
The monument was dedicated July 28th, 1867, at the maple grove, in the park.
Cleveland Past and PresentMaurice Joblin
Lay a young birch or maple an inch or so in diameter across a log.
The ForestStewart Edward White
One and a half cups of maple syrup, and one-fourth of a cup of vinegar.
maple
- 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
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for maple
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper