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Glite Dictionary
American arborvitae

American arborvitae

9.9
A small tree that stays green all year with tiny flat leaves used for garden hedges
  • noun
  • /əˈmɛrɪkən ˌɑrbərˈvaɪti/
  • US
translation icon : arborvitae americano
  • We planted several American arborvitae along the backyard fence for privacy.

Examples

  • The American arborvitae is popular for forming dense, green hedges in suburban gardens.

  • The flat, scale-like leaves make the American arborvitae easy to identify among other evergreens.

  • The American arborvitae is a popular choice for landscaping.

  • Many people plant American arborvitaes for privacy hedges.

  • The American arborvitae is popular for forming dense, green hedges in suburban gardens.

  • The flat, scale-like leaves make the American arborvitae easy to identify among other evergreens.

  • We planted several American arborvitae along the backyard fence for privacy.

Synonyms

Thuja occidentalis
vsAmerican arborvitae
  • Specialized
9.9

A small evergreen tree with tiny flat leaves often used for hedges

is the common name used instead of the Latin term
northern white cedar
vsAmerican arborvitae
  • Specialized
6.8

A small evergreen tree in eastern North America with tiny flat leaves often used for hedges

is an alternative common name for the same ornamental tree

Surface Forms

American arborvitae singular
American arborvitaes plural

Morphology

American + arborvitae

This is a simple adjective + noun composition: 'American' specifies the origin or variety of 'arborvitae', so a learner who knows both constituent meanings will infer it refers to an arborvitae from the Americas. Nationality/region + noun compounding is a regular, cross-linguistic pattern, making the overall meaning directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

American arborvitae gets its name from Latin words arbor ('tree') and vitae ('life'), so it literally means 'tree of life'. These small evergreen trees stay green all year and live a long time, so the name fits a plant often used for hedges and privacy.