white cedar
1
4.2
- noun
- /ˈwaɪt ˈsiːdər/
- US
:
cedro blanco
- Good white cedar plank is 3% more this year than the last.
- Atlantic white cedar
- eastern white cedar
- Northern white cedar
Examples
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The white cedar tree in our backyard provides a wonderful backdrop for our garden.
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Little Twig rather built this canoe out of sticks from a white cedar tree; he covered the frame with the bark of a birch tree.
Fiction book (1998) -
The Indians advised him to feed the crew a tea made from the needles and bark of the eastern white cedar—one of the many foods they used that was a rich source of vitamin C.
Academic text (2004) -
The next morning, map in his hand, compass in his pocket, coffee and biscotti in all their bellies, they set off on a long hike that, according to the park brochure, promised to "pass through thick stands of white cedar and scotch pine, by a sparkling creek, and end at a waterfall."
Fiction book (2002) -
Carpenters prefer to use white cedar because of its durability and resistance to moisture.
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Many species of birds build their nests in the branches of white cedar trees.
Synonyms
A medium-sized evergreen tree that grows in wet places on the eastern coast of the United States
A medium evergreen tree with strong, long-lasting wood that grows in coastal swamps of the United States
A slow-growing medium-sized evergreen tree with small flat leaves that grows along marshy East Coast shores
A medium-sized slow-growing cedar tree from the east coast of the United States with scaly leaves
A medium-sized slow-growing cedar tree from the east coast of the United States
A small evergreen tree in eastern North America with tiny flat leaves often used for hedges
A small evergreen tree with tiny flat leaves often used for hedges
A small tree that stays green all year with tiny flat leaves used for garden hedges
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward attributive noun phrase: 'white' modifies 'cedar', so a learner who knows both words will infer it is a type of cedar characterized by whiteness or pale wood/foliage. The detailed botanical information (species, growth habit, native range) is encyclopedic and does not affect the compositional, easily derivable meaning.
Etymology
White cedar gets its name from the tree's pale, almost white wood and its cedar smell. white shows the light color and cedar names the type of tree. Because this wood is light and does not rot easily, people used white cedar for canoes and building, so today the name means the tree known for its useful wood that lasts a long time.