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maple.

Any member of any species of genus Acer, characterized by (usually) palmate, five-lobed leaves and winged seeds, and often grown for syrup or wood

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈmeɪpl̩/Received-Pronunciation[ˈmeɪp(ə)ɫ̩]Received-Pronunciation/ˈmeɪp(ə)l/Canada, General-American/ˈmæɪpəl/Australia, New-Zealand
  1. Any member of any species of genus Acer, characterized by (usually) palmate, five-lobed leaves and winged seeds, and often grown for syrup or wood

    countable · uncountable
    Russian maple
    They have a large maple in their yard.
  2. Any member of any species of genus Acer, characterized by (usually) palmate, five-lobed leaves and winged seeds, and often grown for syrup or wood A small tree (Acer campestre), known as the common maple, field maple, or hedge maple, which has palmate leaves with five lobes and winged seeds, and is chiefly native to East Asia, Europe, North Africa, and North America.

    UK · countable
  3. Any member of any species of genus Acer, characterized by (usually) palmate, five-lobed leaves and winged seeds, and often grown for syrup or wood Often preceded by a descriptive word: a tree of the genus Acer; especially the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) native to North America which has brightly colored autumn foliage and is the primary source of maple syrup.

    countable
  4. Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word: a tree of a genus other than Acer which has an appearance or wood similar to an Acer tree.

    countable
    Queensland maple
  5. Wood of an Acer tree, valued for its attractive appearance and hardness; also, similar wood from a tree of a genus other than Acer; (countable) a particular type of such wood.

    uncountable
    This table is made of maple and also has some fruitwood inlays.
  6. The light-brown color of the wood of a maple tree (etymology 1, noun sense 3).

    uncountable
  7. The flavor of maple syrup made from the sap of a maple tree, or an imitation of that flavor.

    uncountable
    What flavour is your ice-cream? Mine’s maple—it’s delicious.
  8. Short for maple pea (“the field pea (Pisum sativum subsp. arvense) which has brown, speckled seeds used dry rather than fresh; a seed of this plant”).

    abbreviation · alt-of · countable
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English mapel (“tree of species Acer campestre, sole native maple of the British Isles); wood of such a tree; artistic representation of a maple leaf; a beam, pole, stake (?)”), from Old English *mapul (attested in mapulder (“maple tree”), mapultrēow (“maple tree”), etc.), from Proto-West Germanic *mapul (“maple tree”), from Proto-Germanic *mapulaz; further etymology uncertain, possibly from *masuraz (“type of wood with spots or veins, such as maple or walnut”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mos- (“skin sore”)) + *aplaz (“apple; fruit”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl (“apple; apple tree”)). The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun. cognates * Dutch meppel (dialectal) * Old English mæsen (“maple”) * Middle Low German mapeldorn * Old High German mazaltra, mazzaltra (modern German Masseller, Maßholder; Mase (“scar”), Maser (“knob; offshoot; measle, speck”)) * Old Norse mǫpurr, mǫsurr (“maple”) * Old Saxon mapulder

adj/ˈmeɪpl̩/Received-Pronunciation[ˈmeɪp(ə)ɫ̩]Received-Pronunciation/ˈmeɪp(ə)l/Canada, General-American/ˈmæɪpəl/Australia, New-Zealand
  1. Of the light-brown colour of the wood of a maple tree (etymology 1, noun sense 3).

    not-comparable
  2. Of the flavour of, or made with, maple syrup.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

The noun is derived from Middle English mapel (“tree of species Acer campestre, sole native maple of the British Isles); wood of such a tree; artistic representation of a maple leaf; a beam, pole, stake (?)”), from Old English *mapul (attested in mapulder (“maple tree”), mapultrēow (“maple tree”), etc.), from Proto-West Germanic *mapul (“maple tree”), from Proto-Germanic *mapulaz; further etymology uncertain, possibly from *masuraz (“type of wood with spots or veins, such as maple or walnut”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mos- (“skin sore”)) + *aplaz (“apple; fruit”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl (“apple; apple tree”)). The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun. cognates * Dutch meppel (dialectal) * Old English mæsen (“maple”) * Middle Low German mapeldorn * Old High German mazaltra, mazzaltra (modern German Masseller, Maßholder; Mase (“scar”), Maser (“knob; offshoot; measle, speck”)) * Old Norse mǫpurr, mǫsurr (“maple”) * Old Saxon mapulder

noun/ˈmeɪpl̩/Received-Pronunciation/ˈmeɪp(ə)l/Canada, General-American/ˈmæɪpəl/Australia/ˈmæepl̩/New-Zealand
  1. Synonym of mapau (“any of several trees of New Zealand, especially in the genus Myrsine”).

    New-Zealand · archaic
Where this word comes from

A variant of mapau, influenced by maple (etymology 1).

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Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.