white aspen
- noun
- /waɪt ˈæspən/
- US
:
álamo blanco
- The forest is filled with tall white aspens that sway gently in the breeze.
Examples
-
Compressed against the roadsides are gothic, violet spires of ponderosa and streaks of white aspen.
Fiction book (1991) -
The slender white aspens are ablaze in yellow autumn pixels.
Blog text (33) -
We spotted a grove of white aspens while hiking through the mountains.
-
The striking contrast of the white aspen trunks against the dark green pines was breathtaking.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A poplar tree with white bark and leaves that are white underneath
A tree with smooth white bark and leaves with pale undersides that tremble
A tree with white bark and silvery leaves often planted for decoration
A tall tree with white bark and silvery leaf undersides used for decoration
A poplar tree with white bark and pale leaf undersides
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is a simple adjective + noun combination meaning 'an aspen that is white' (e.g., white bark or whitish undersides). A B1 learner who knows 'white' and 'aspen' can directly derive this referential meaning because it follows the regular adjective–noun compositional pattern common across languages.
Etymology
White aspen gets its name from how the tree looks: the word white points to its pale, shiny bark and the undersides of the leaves, and aspen is the poplar tree. That's why white aspen means 'a poplar tree with pale bark and whitish undersides'.