Definition of: maple

(mā′pəl) noun
1. Any of a large genus (Acer) of deciduous trees of the north temperate zone, with opposite leaves and a fruit of two joined samaras.
2. Its wood, which is hard, light in color, and of close grain.
3. The amber–yellow color of the finished wood.
4. The flavor of the sap of the sugar maple.
—hard maple
1. The sugar maple.
2. The black maple (A. nigrum). [OE mapel(trēow), mapul(der) a maple (tree)]