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Glite Dictionary
red maple

red maple

1 2.7
A tree with leaves that have five parts and turn bright red or yellow in autumn
  • noun
  • /rɛd ˈmeɪpəl/
  • US
translation icon : arce rojo
  • The park is filled with red maples, their vibrant foliage attracting many visitors each fall.
  • red maple and birch
  • oak and red maple
  • red maple and sassafras

Examples

  • Common hackberry, groundsel tree, red maple, southern wax myrtle, and sweetbay are common woody plants.

    Academic text (2010)

  • In autumn, the leaves of the red maple turn brilliant shades of scarlet and gold.

  • Common trees in the forest are red maple, green ash, sweet gum, and American elm.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The field at right, after twenty-eight years of regrowing, has been overrun by red maple.

    Academic text (2002)

  • I'm standing there, staring down into a scattering of yellow and red maple leaves, when a sound pierces my self-absorption.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • An upland forest dominated by white oak, tulip poplar, black gum, and red maple covers the ridges.

    Academic text (1995)

  • The forest is dominated by eastern hemlock (49% relative importance value), black spruce (16%), red maple (15%), yellow birch (9%), and blackgum (5%).

    Academic text (2007)

  • Doyle spies a squirrel and chases after it, but the squirrel is quicker, makes it to a red maple, and scrambles up the trunk to safety.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • During our hike, we stopped to admire a large red maple with its stunning fall colors.

Synonyms

scarlet maple
vsred maple
  • US
5.1

A maple tree from eastern and central North America with five-part leaves that turn bright red and yellow in autumn

uses a common colour term rather than that specific word
Acer rubrum
vsred maple
  • Specialized
8.5

A North American tree with five-lobed leaves that turn red or yellow in autumn

is the common name form used in everyday speech
swamp maple
vsred maple
  • US
6.2

A tree growing where the ground is often wet with five-lobed leaves that turn red or yellow in autumn

is the general common-name description focused on leaf colour and range

Surface Forms

red maple singular
red maples plural

Morphology

red + maple

This is a literal color + noun combination: 'red' modifies 'maple' to indicate a maple tree that is red in color (e.g., its leaves). A B1 learner who knows 'red' and 'maple' can readily infer this meaning because color-noun compounds are compositional and cross-linguistically common.

Etymology

Red maple comes from the tree's colour: its buds, small branches and leaves often turn bright red in autumn. So calling it red and maple gave a clear picture, and today the name means 'a maple with red leaves'.