birch tree
3
2.1
- noun
- /bɜrtʃ tri/
:
abedul
- Tall birch trees line the river, the color of their leaves hinting that autumn is approaching.
Examples
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Across the river, pines and birch trees towered over Dorinda's pathetic shack.
Fiction book (2002) -
There were two beautiful birch trees right outside our house.
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Young birch trees had established themselves, and the tallest were now over six feet high.
Fiction book (1992) -
Warm, dry days intensify the pollen count in areas where there are birch trees.
Academic text (2011) -
Oh, my true father, do not chop down the birch tree by the roadside.
Fiction book (1998) -
But on one branch of a single birch tree, he saw the leaves shimmer, as if nudged by a breeze.
Fiction book (1996) -
I went swimming in lakes edged with birch trees and retraced the steps of Napoleon.
Academic text (1993) -
There were two beautiful birch trees right outside our house.
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When we arrived at the clinic, I saw white birch trees, just like in Russia.
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A slight breeze released a single leaf from the white birch tree in front of my apartment.
Synonyms
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'birch tree' is fully compositional: it denotes a tree of the birch species by combining 'birch' (a slender tree with peeling white bark) and the generic noun 'tree.' This species-denoting noun-noun construction is transparent and common cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the meaning.
Etymology
Birch tree comes from the old name birch, which points to trees with pale, peeling bark that shines in the sun, plus the word tree. So, birch tree simply means 'a tree with that pale, peeling bark'.