wing elm

9.6

A North American tree with rough, thick bumps on its branches that look like wings

noun
/wɪŋ ɛlm/

: olmo alado

The wing elm is easily recognized by its distinctive corky branches.

Examples

Several wing elms were planted along the park trail for shade and beauty.
Birds often perch on the rough, corky twigs of the wing elm.
The wing elm is known for its unique corky projections.
Many wing elms can be found in the southern United States.
Birds often perch on the rough, corky twigs of the wing elm.
Several wing elms were planted along the park trail for shade and beauty.
The wing elm is easily recognized by its distinctive corky branches.

Synonyms

Ulmus alata

vswing elm

Specialized

9.9

A North American elm tree with small leaves and corky wings on its branches

is the common English name rather than the formal Latin name

winged elm

vswing elm

9.1

A North American tree with thick ridges on its small branches and new growth

uses a simpler noun form instead of the adjectival variant

Surface Forms

wing elm singular

wing elms plural

Morphology

wing + elm

The sense 'a species of elm with conspicuous wing-like (corky) projections' is directly and compositionally derived from 'wing' + 'elm', so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer this is an elm characterized by wing-like features on its branches. This is a descriptive, cross-linguistically common compound naming pattern for plants, so the meaning is immediately comprehensible from the constituents.

Etymology

Wing elm comes from the look of its branches. The twigs have flat, wing-like bumps that look like small wings, so people called this elm a wing elm, meaning a 'tree' with winged branches.