elm

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun any of various trees of the genus Ulmus: important timber or shade trees
  2. noun hard tough wood of an elm tree; used for e.g. implements and furniture

Etymology

From Middle English elme, elm, from Old English elm, from Proto-West Germanic *elm, from Proto-Germanic *elmaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁élem (“mountain elm”). See also dialectal Low German Elm, dialectal German Ilm, archaic German Ilme, Norwegian and Swedish alm; also Irish leamh, Latin ulmus, Albanian ulzë (“maple”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

elm tree

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