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Glite Dictionary
Mount Elbert

Mount Elbert

1 4.5
The highest mountain in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, rising to 14,431 feet
  • proper noun
: Monte Elbert
  • Did you know that Mount Elbert is the highest peak in the Rockies?

Examples

  • The view from the summit of Mount Elbert is truly breathtaking.

  • Snow still covered parts of Mount Elbert in late June.

  • Many hikers travel to Colorado to climb Mount Elbert each year.

  • I climbed Mount Elbert last summer.

  • Many hikers travel to Colorado to climb Mount Elbert each year.

  • The view from the summit of Mount Elbert is truly breathtaking.

  • Did you know that Mount Elbert is the highest peak in the Rockies?

Surface Forms

Mount Elbert main

Morphology

mount + Elbert

The element 'mount' clearly denotes a mountain and 'Elbert' functions as a proper name, so a learner who knows 'mount' will infer this refers to a mountain called Elbert. The composition 'Mount + [name]' is cross-linguistically common, making the basic referential meaning predictable; specific facts (e.g. that it is the highest Rocky Mountain peak or its elevation) are encyclopedic and not derivable from the words themselves.

Etymology

Mount Elbert was named after Samuel Hitt Elbert, a Colorado governor in the 1800s. Putting his name on the tallest nearby peak was a way 'to honor' him, so the name now means the highest mountain in the Rockies.