east African cedar

8.2

A tall African tree with wood that smells nice and lasts a long time for making furniture and houses

noun

: cedro del este africano

The wood of the east African cedar is highly valued for its durability and aroma.

Examples

Carpenters in Kenya frequently use east African cedar for building furniture and homes.
The fragrance of east African cedar can linger in closets and chests for years.
The east African cedar is prized for its durability.
Many carpenters prefer using east African cedar for furniture.
Carpenters in Kenya frequently use east African cedar for building furniture and homes.
The fragrance of east African cedar can linger in closets and chests for years.
The wood of the east African cedar is highly valued for its durability and aroma.

Synonyms

Juniperus procera

vseast African cedar

Specialized

9.9

A tall tree from eastern Africa and Arabia with fragrant and strong wood used for furniture

uses a general common name instead of the scientific Latin name

Surface Forms

east African cedar singular

east African cedars plural

Morphology

east + African + cedar

The phrase is a straightforward composition of location/region modifiers plus a common noun: 'east' + 'African' specify the geographic origin of the noun 'cedar' (a type of tree). This literal, descriptive pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer it refers to a cedar tree from East Africa (even if they do not know the precise species name).

Etymology

East African cedar is the name of a real tree and comes from its parts: east (where it grows), African (the continent) and cedar (a type of timber tree) with strong, fragrant wood. Because people used this wood for furniture and chests that kept clothes smelling good and lasting long, the name now means 'durable, aromatic timber'.