quaking aspen









quaking aspen


quaking aspen ExamplesWord Origin noun

  1. See under aspen(def 1).

Origin of quaking aspen First recorded in 1785–95 aspen [as-puh n] noun

  1. any of various poplars, as Populus tremula, of Europe, and P. tremuloides (quaking aspen) or P. alba (white aspen), of America, having soft wood and alternate ovate leaves that tremble in the slightest breeze.

adjective

  1. of or relating to the aspen.
  2. trembling or quivering, like the leaves of the aspen.

Origin of aspen 1350–1400; Middle English aspen (adj.), Old English æspen; cognate with Old Frisian espen (adj.), espenbeam, Middle Dutch espenboom, Old High German espîn (adj.). See asp2, -en2 Examples from the Web for quaking aspen Historical Examples of quaking aspen

  • Suddenly I came upon a large, quaking-aspen tree set back in the woods by the side of the bog.

    Everyday Adventures

    Samuel Scoville

  • British Dictionary definitions for quaking aspen aspen noun

    1. any of several trees of the salicaceous genus Populus, such as P. tremula of Europe, in which the leaves are attached to the stem by long flattened stalks so that they quiver in the windArchaic name: asp

    adjective

    1. archaic, mainly literary trembling

    Word Origin for aspen Old English æspe; see asp ² Word Origin and History for quaking aspen aspen n.

    late 14c., from adjective or genitive form of Old English æspe “aspen tree, white poplar,” from Proto-Germanic *aspo (cf. Old Norse ösp, Middle Dutch espe, Old High German aspa, German Espe), from PIE *apsa “aspen” (cf. Lithuanian opuse). The current form in English probably arose from phrases such as aspen leaf, aspen bark. Its leaves have been figurative of tremulousness and quaking since at least early 15c. (an Old English name for it was cwicbeam, literally “quick-tree”).

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