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Glite Dictionary
red alder

red alder

7.5
A large tree from the Pacific coast with smooth reddish wood used for furniture
  • noun
  • /rɛd ˈɔldər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : aliso rojo
  • The red alder tree provides excellent timber for making sturdy tables and chairs.

Examples

  • A few conifers have established, but red alder (Alnus rubra) now has the greatest cover.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The craftsmen used red alder to create beautiful furniture pieces that showcased its rich color.

  • Even so, the distribution of red alder is patchy, and it is absent from large areas.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Many artisans prefer red alder wood due to its durability and attractive reddish hue.

Synonyms

Alnus rubra
vsred alder
  • Specialized
9.9

A large tree from the Pacific coast with hard red wood used for furniture

is the everyday common name rather than the formal Latin label
Oregon alder
vsred alder
  • US
8.9

A large tree from the Pacific coast with hard red wood used for furniture

is the broader common name used generally rather than a regional label

Surface Forms

red alder singular
red alders plural

Morphology

red + alder

The noun is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'red' (a color) modifying 'alder' (a type of tree), so the phrase denotes an alder with a reddish appearance or wood. This follows common cross-linguistic naming patterns for species and materials, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reliably infer the meaning.

Etymology

The compound red alder comes from a simple picture: people saw the tree's wood was reddish, so they used red for the colour and alder for the kind of tree. That's why red alder means a 'tree with reddish wood' often used for furniture.