Elm Meaning
/ɛlm/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA tree of the genus Ulmus of the family Ulmaceae, large deciduous trees with alternate stipulate leaves and small apetalous flowers.
nounWood from an elm tree.
Sentence Examples
In our Mediterranean forest, there are lots of trees: oak, pine, willow, ash, elm, etc..
We have a Japanese elm in our garden which always looks particularly gorgeous in autumn.
The trees they selected were maple, elm, beech, and poplar.
CEFR Practice Quiz
A large ____ tree stood in the middle of the village square.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In our Mediterranean forest, there are lots of trees: oak, pine, willow, ash, ____, etc..
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It was not far from the house; but the ground sank into a depression there, and the ridge of it behind shut out everything except just the roof of the tallest hayrick. As one sat on the sward behind the elm, with the back turned on the rick and nothing in front but the tall elms and the oaks in the other hedge, it was quite easy to fancy it the verge of the prairie with the backwoods close by."
— 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
"The village is a dignified place of thatch, half-timbering, box hedges and neat farms, set among elms (though not as many as formerly, since Dutch elm disease took its toll) on the level plain of the Pewsey Vale."
— 1980, AA Book of English Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 67:
"English soldiers handled sturdy bows of yew, ash, or elm, which could propel an iron-tipped arrow as far as a hundred yards."
— 1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 155:
"Elm as a language can be seen from different angles. The main purpose of the language and the platform is to create web applications."
— 2018, Wolfgang Loder, Web Applications with Elm […] , Apress, →ISBN, page 42:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
A large ____ tree stood in the middle of the village square.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In our Mediterranean forest, there are lots of trees: oak, pine, willow, ash, ____, etc..