great maple
- noun
- UK
:
plátano mayor
- The park is home to a majestic great maple whose leaves turn bright yellow every autumn.
Examples
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Gardeners often plant the great maple for its rapid growth and broad, shady canopy.
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Many great maples are found in parks across Europe.
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A great maple stood at the corner of the street, its bark flaking in large patches.
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The great maple in my backyard is over fifty years old.
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The park is home to a majestic great maple whose leaves turn bright yellow every autumn.
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A great maple stood at the corner of the street, its bark flaking in large patches.
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Gardeners often plant the great maple for its rapid growth and broad, shady canopy.
Synonyms
10
4.8
A large tree with pale, peeling bark and broad leaves that gives good shade
A maple tree from Europe and western Asia with pale flaky bark and five-lobed leaves that turn yellow in autumn
A maple tree with pale flaky grey bark and leaves with five lobes that turn yellow in autumn
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'great' (large/notable) modifies 'maple' (a type of tree), so a B1 learner who knows both words will infer it means a large or notable maple tree. While the precise botanical species details in the dictionary definition are specialized, the general meaning is directly derivable from the constituents and follows a common cross-linguistic pattern.
Etymology
Great maple comes from using great to mean 'large' and maple for the tree. People gave this name because the tree grows very tall with big leaves and a wide, shady top, so it simply means a very large maple tree.