poplar

[pop-ler]

noun

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.

Origin of poplar

1350–1400; Middle English popler(e), variant of populer, equivalent to Middle English, Old English popul popple² (< Latin pōpulus poplar) + -er -er²; suffix apparently added on model of Middle French pouplier, equivalent to pouple poplar + -ier -ier²

Related formspop·lared, adjective

Can be confusedpoplar popular

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

Examples from the Web for poplar

Contemporary Examples of poplar

The poplar trees that line the avenues between the cellblocks are bare.
My Visit To Hell
Christopher Buckley
January 30, 2009

Historical Examples of poplar

The trees they choose are ordinarily the poplar, which grow on the banks of the water.
The History of Louisiana
Le Page Du Pratz
He is now safe in the poplar grove, and his uncle gives up the charge.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
Then a discussion arose as to how one ought to climb a poplar.
The Fortune of the Rougons
Emile Zola
It grows on wood and its favorite hosts are the poplar and the birch.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard
Ahmeek selected a poplar to his liking, not far from the bank of the stream.
Followers of the Trail
Zoe Meyer

British Dictionary definitions for poplar

poplar

noun

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

Word Origin for poplar

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for poplar

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.