rock maple
- noun
- /rɑk ˈmeɪpəl/
- US
:
arce de azúcar
- The kitchen table is made of rock maple, ensuring its durability and beauty for years to come.
Examples
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It's easy to see how this "small" movie could attract such a cast, because every single scene is loaded with emotional moments, and most scenes give two, three, or all four characters the chance to chew their handsome Manhattan loft antique furniture right down to the rock-maple frames.
Blog text (14) -
Gino was sitting in one corner of the big rock maple couch.
Fiction book (1996) -
The room where we waited was completely furnished in rock maple furniture with red plaid upholstery.
Fiction book (1996) -
"He came over the mountain, walking up from the borough on the east side of Biscuit Hill, climbing through that pine forest and the rock maple that went down in the hurricane.
Fiction book (1999) -
He gestured vaguely at the rock maple chairs with red plaid cushions that sat on either side of a brick fireplace.
Fiction book (1996) -
She chose a rock maple dresser because its strong wood is perfect for holding all her clothes.
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During the tour, we learned that rock maple is prized for its quality sap used in making delicious maple syrup.
Synonyms
4
3.6
A North American tree with hard wood and a sweet liquid used to make syrup and sugar
A North American tree with pointed leaves that gives sap for maple syrup
Surface Forms
Morphology
rock + maple
This is a straightforward noun compound where 'rock' modifies 'maple', so a learner who knows 'maple' and the basic meaning of 'rock' can infer it refers to a type/kind of maple tree (likely characterized by hardness or growth on rocky sites). The specific botanical or commercial details (sugar maple, timber use) are extra encyclopedic information, but the core sense 'a kind of maple tree' is compositional and therefore immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Rock maple comes from the image of a maple tree growing on rocky hills, where the word rock points to the thin, stony ground the tree often grows on. Trees that grow in that hard soil make very dense, 'hard' wood. That's why 'rock maple' now means a strong, hard kind of maple used for furniture, floors and making maple syrup.