quaking aspen
1
6.4
- noun
- /ˈkwākɪŋ ˈæspən/
- UK
:
álamo temblón
- The quaking aspen is known for its distinctive trembling leaves in the breeze.
- grove of quaking aspen
Examples
-
That hundred-plus acre stand of quaking aspen in Utah is, after all, considered to be the world's largest living individual.
Fiction book (1994) -
The train emerges from a sea of quaking aspen at the 11,578-foot level, into the barren stretches of the timberline.
Academic text (1994) -
Even though it is winter, she can hear the quaking aspens outside shivering silver.
Fiction book (1994) -
In adverse situations, rather than shut down, the quaking aspen sends out new roots.
Blog text (16) -
That's why a quaking aspen system can survive in marginal environments where other trees would die.
Blog text (16) -
Some of those plants, such as box elder, quaking aspen, and riverside grape, are native species present before humans drastically altered the land.
Academic text (2010) -
An open and gently sloped hillside, almost a meadow, ran for a quarter mile in quaking aspen, none over fifteen feet tall.
Fiction book (1990) -
They sat in the stretched shadows of cottonwoods and quaking aspen in Emmaline and Harold's backyard.
Fiction book (2000) -
In the mountains, the tall pines and quaking aspens sheltered the Red Baldies as they grazed on sweet wild grass and drank from snow-splashed streams.
Fiction book (1993) -
The lakes, along with sphagnum bogs and forests of red and white pine, quaking aspen, and paper birch, make up a landscape that stretches north to the southern shore of Lake Superior.
Academic text (2010)
Synonyms
A tree from Europe and parts of Asia with rounded leaves that shake in the wind
A European and Asian aspen tree with round leaves that shake in the wind
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'quaking aspen' is a descriptive compound: 'quaking' (shaking/trembling) + 'aspen' (a type of tree), so its meaning — an aspen that trembles — is directly derivable from the constituents. This present‑participle + noun pattern is cross‑linguistically common for species names, making it readily understandable to a B1 learner who knows the component words.
Etymology
Quaking aspen comes from the way its leaves shake even in a light breeze; quaking means 'trembling' and the thin leaf stalks make the leaves flutter so the whole tree seems to shake. That's why the name is used for this type of aspen tree.