swamp maple

6.2

A tree growing where the ground is often wet with five-lobed leaves that turn red or yellow in autumn

noun
/swɑmp ˈmeɪpəl/

: arce de pantano

The swamp maple is a common sight in eastern North America, especially during the fall months.

Examples

Two days before Halloween, Bell and I head through forests of swamp maple and swamp oak to Exeter.

Blog text (1)
In the autumn, the leaves of the swamp maple transform into vibrant hues of scarlet and yellow.
We admired the striking colors of the swamp maple as we walked through the forest.

Synonyms

red maple

vsswamp maple

1 2.7

A tree with leaves that have five parts and turn bright red or yellow in autumn

is the same species but used in a different common name form

scarlet maple

vsswamp maple

5.1

A maple tree from eastern and central North America with five-part leaves that turn bright red and yellow in autumn

is the same meaning but is an alternative common name

Acer rubrum

vsswamp maple

Specialized

8.5

A North American tree with five-lobed leaves that turn red or yellow in autumn

is the common everyday name rather than a scientific label

Surface Forms

swamp maple singular

swamp maples plural

Morphology

swamp + maple

The meaning 'a maple tree found in swamps' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'swamp' (wetland) with 'maple' (a type of tree); the first noun plainly modifies the second in a common English compound pattern. This compositional, literal relationship is cross-linguistically common and would be easily inferred by a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Swamp maple is a simple compound name for a maple that lives in wet ground. The word swamp points to the wet place and maple is the tree with bright leaves in autumn, so the name means 'a maple that grows in wet places and has bright autumn leaves'.