alder

white alder

Alnus rhombifolia

al·der

(ôl′dər)

1. Any of various deciduous shrubs or trees of the genus Alnus, native chiefly to northern temperate regions and having alternate simple toothed leaves and woody, conelike catkins.

2. The wood of these plants, used in carvings and for making furniture and cabinets.

[Middle English, from Old English alor.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

alder

(ˈɔːldə)

1. (Plants) any N temperate betulaceous shrub or tree of the genus Alnus, having toothed leaves and conelike fruits. The bark is used in dyeing and tanning and the wood for bridges, etc because it resists underwater rot

2. (Plants) any of several similar trees or shrubs

[Old English alor; related to Old High German elira, Latin alnus]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

al•der

(ˈɔl dər)

n.

any shrub or tree belonging to the genus Alnus, of the birch family, growing in moist places in N temperate or colder regions and having toothed, simple leaves and flowers in catkins.

[before 900; Middle English alder, aller, Old English alor, al(e)r, c. Middle Low German al(l)er Latin alnus]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	alder - wood of any of various alder trees; resistant to underwater rot; used for bridges etc alder tree, alder - north temperate shrubs or trees having toothed leaves and conelike fruit; bark is used in tanning and dyeing and the wood is rot-resistant wood - the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
	2.	alder - north temperate shrubs or trees having toothed leaves and conelike fruit; bark is used in tanning and dyeing and the wood is rot-resistant alder tree Alnus, genus Alnus - alders alder - wood of any of various alder trees; resistant to underwater rot; used for bridges etc Alnus glutinosa, Alnus vulgaris, common alder, European black alder - medium-sized tree with brown-black bark and woody fruiting catkins; leaves are hairy beneath Alnus incana, gray alder, grey alder - native to Europe but introduced in America Alnus maritima, seaside alder - shrub or small tree of southeastern United States having soft light brown wood Alnus rhombifolia, white alder, mountain alder - tree of western United States Alnus rubra, Oregon alder, red alder - large tree of Pacific coast of North America having hard red wood much used for furniture Alnus rugosa, speckled alder - common shrub of Canada and northeastern United States having shoots scattered with rust-colored down Alnus serrulata, hazel alder, smooth alder - common shrub of the eastern United States with smooth bark Alnus veridis, green alder - shrub of mountainous areas of Europe Alnus crispa, Alnus veridis crispa, green alder - North American shrub with light green leaves and winged nuts tree - a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms

Translations

olše

Erle

alno

aliso aliso negro

lepp

leppä

aulne aune verne

éger

elri

ontano

alnus

els

olchaolsza

aninarin

jelša

alder

[ˈɔːldəʳ] N → aliso m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

alder

[ˈɔːldə^r] n → aulne m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

alder

n → Erle f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

alder

[ˈɔːldəʳ] n → ontano

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

From here it runs to the right where the horses are; there are breeding places there, and grouse, and all round those reeds as far as that alder, and right up to the mill.

View in context

Its name is Ben Alder. it is a wild, desert mountain full of hills and hollows, and if we can win to it before the morn, we may do yet."

View in context

The wagon had passed by, rustling down the road, which was carpeted with fallen leaves of maple, oak, and alder. Then they came to the meeting of the two creeks.

View in context

Round her cave there was a thick wood of alder, poplar, and sweet smelling cypress trees, wherein all kinds of great birds had built their nests--owls, hawks, and chattering sea-crows that occupy their business in the waters.

View in context

"Then I come back to what I thought before; and the more so as last evening at sunset, whilst I was arranging the border where I am to plant your bulb, I saw a shadow gliding between the alder trees and the aspens.

View in context

I see, lad, the knaves have barked your arm!" added the scout, taking up the limb of the patient sufferer, across which a deep flesh wound had been made by one of the bullets; "but a little bruised alder will act like a charm.

View in context

There was a fringe of alder nearly opposite their cabin that almost overhung the stream.

View in context

A few fishermen with their families indolently pass their lives away there, with their great living-rafts of poplar and alder, the flooring formed of reeds, and the roof woven out of thick rushes.

View in context

Sympathy with the fluttering alder and poplar leaves almost takes away my breath; yet, like the lake, my serenity is rippled but not ruffled.

View in context

A deep and careless incision had been made into each tree, near its root, into which little spouts, formed of the I bark of the alder, or of the sumach, were fastened; and a trough, roughly dug out of the linden, or basswood, was I lying at the root of each tree, to catch the sap that flowed from this extremely wasteful and inartificial arrangement.

View in context

The birches and cherry and alders too are coming out....

View in context

It bolted for a thicket of alders. Sir Geoffrey put his gun to his shoulder, but there was something in the animal's grace of movement that strangely charmed Dorian Gray, and he cried out at once, "Don't shoot it, Geoffrey.

View in context