mahogany tree
- noun
- /məˈhɑɡəni tri/
:
árbol de caoba
- In the garden, we admired the magnificent mahogany tree with its rich, reddish-brown bark.
- a large mahogany tree
Examples
-
Deep within a remote forest of Guatemala, the remains of a spider monkey were buried under an enormous mahogany tree.
Academic text (2003) -
The carpenter chose a sturdy piece of wood from the mahogany tree to make a beautiful dining table.
-
The old mahogany tree provided shade for the children as they played beneath its sprawling branches.
Synonyms
11
5.3
A tropical tree or its strong reddish-brown wood used for fine furniture
Tropical American trees that give true mahogany wood
A large mahogany tree from Central and South America that produces valuable wood
A tree from the Caribbean that gives deep brown, strong wood used for furniture
A mahogany tree from the Caribbean with hard reddish wood used for fine furniture
A Central American tree with hard reddish-brown wood used for fine furniture
A tree from the Caribbean that gives hard reddish-brown wood used for fine furniture
A tree from the Caribbean with hard reddish-brown wood used for furniture
A tropical African mahogany tree with hard reddish-brown wood used to make furniture
A tree from Africa with hard reddish-brown wood used for furniture and building
A tall African tree whose light reddish-brown wood smells like cedar and is used for furniture and guitars
An African tree with light, fragrant wood often pink to reddish brown, used for furniture
A tree from Africa with lightweight, reddish-brown wood that smells like cedar
A tropical tree in the Philippines with hard fragrant wood used for furniture
A tropical American tree with hard reddish-brown wood used for furniture
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'mahogany' (a type of hardwood) plus 'tree' (a tall perennial plant): it denotes the tree that produces mahogany wood. This noun-noun compound follows a common and transparent pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
Mahogany tree probably gets its name from an old Caribbean word used by sailors and traders for the rich, reddish-brown wood called mahogany, so people began to call the tree by that name. That's why mahogany tree now means the tree that gives that 'valuable wood' used for fine furniture.