poplar

[ pop-ler ]

/ ˈpɒp lər /

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.

Nearby words

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

The poplar trees that line the avenues between the cellblocks are bare.
My Visit To Hell|Christopher Buckley|January 30, 2009|DAILY BEAST
It was strange, in the evening light, to work out along the road between lines of poplar trees.
Young Hilda at the Wars|Arthur Gleason
"It is something of all these things," the doctor answered, as he dismounted and fastened his horse to a branch of a poplar tree.
The Country Doctor|Honore de Balzac
Johnny sat there deathly pale, his eyes fairly popping out of his head and his whole body shaking like a poplar leaf.
Twenty Years of Hus'ling|J. P. Johnston

It thenceforward became a matter of history that Felicite herself got up every night to sprinkle the poplar with vitriol.
The Fortune of the Rougons|Emile Zola
The sympathy and affection shown during his illness by his neighbours at Poplar affected him deeply.
From Workhouse to Westminster|George Haw

British Dictionary definitions for poplar

poplar

/ (ˈpɒplə) /

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

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.