poplar
[pop-ler]
- any of the rapidly growing, salicaceous trees of the genus Populus, usually characterized by the columnar or spirelike manner of growth of its branches.
- the light, soft wood of any of these trees, used for pulp.
- any of various similar trees, as the tulip tree.
- the wood of any such tree.
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Origin of poplar
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for poplar
Contemporary Examples
The poplar trees that line the avenues between the cellblocks are bare.
Historical Examples
The trees they choose are ordinarily the poplar, which grow on the banks of the water.
The History of LouisianaLe Page Du Pratz
He is now safe in the poplar grove, and his uncle gives up the charge.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
Then a discussion arose as to how one ought to climb a poplar.
The Fortune of the RougonsEmile Zola
It grows on wood and its favorite hosts are the poplar and the birch.
The Mushroom, Edible and OtherwiseM. E. Hard
Ahmeek selected a poplar to his liking, not far from the bank of the stream.
Followers of the TrailZoe Meyer
poplar
- any tree of the salicaceous genus Populus, of N temperate regions, having triangular leaves, flowers borne in catkins, and light soft woodSee also aspen, balsam poplar, Lombardy poplar, white poplar
- any of various trees resembling the true poplars, such as the tulip tree
- the wood of any of these trees
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French poplier, from pouple, from Latin pōpulus
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 poplar
n.
mid-14c., from Anglo-French popler, from Old French poplier (13c., Modern French peulplier), from Latin populus "poplar" (with a long "o;" not the same word that produced popular), of unknown origin, possibly from a PIE tree-name root *p(y)el- (cf. Greek pelea "elm"). Italian pioppo, Spanish chopo, German pappel, Old Church Slavonic topoli all are from Latin.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper