aspen
nounEtymology From Middle English aspen, from Old English æspen, Old English æspan (combining form), from Old English æspe (“aspen”). More at asp.
1
A poplar tree, especially of section Populus sect. Populus, of medium-size trees with thin, straight trunks of a greenish-white color.
- Above a certain elevation, the aspens gave way to scrubby, gnarled pines.
- ſtaggering like a quiuering Aſpen leafe, Fearing the force of Boreas boiſtrous blaſts.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iv:
2 more examples
- Instead there were the white of aspens, streaks of branch and slender trunk glistening from the green of leaves[…].1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:
- The beloved aspen forests that shimmer across mountainsides of the American West could be doomed if emissions of greenhouse gases continue at a high level, scientists warned on Monday. […] The new paper analyzed the drought and heat that killed millions of aspens in Colorado and nearby states a decade ago.2015 March 30, Justin Gillis, “Climate Change Threatens to Kill Off More Aspen Forests by 2050s, Scientists Say”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2020:
2
The wood of such a tree; usually pale, lightweight and soft.
- She claimed that aspen was the only "proper" material from which to make a wicker basket.
- Derived terms
- American aspen, aspen leaf blotch miner moth, aspenlike, bigtooth aspen, Canadian aspen, Chinese aspen, Eurasian aspen, European aspen, Japanese aspen, Korean aspen, large-toothed aspen, quaking aspen, trembling aspen, white aspen