Is it correct to say maple tree, or would maple be both correct and enough to mean a tree (not just its fruit)?
2 Answers
The word maple is used to mean the tree. The definition given by the NOAD is "a tree or shrub with lobed leaves, winged fruits, and colorful autumn foliage, grown as an ornamental or for its timber or syrupy sap."
The word origin is from Old English mapel, which is the first element of mapeltrēow, mapulder ("maple tree"), used as an independent word from Middle English onward.
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This leads us to ask the following question: What is the name of the maple fruits?– apadernoMar 23, 2011 at 9:36
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2The winged fruits of the maple tree are generally referred to as "keys", at least here in Canada Mar 23, 2011 at 11:42
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The word "tree" is nearly always optional after kinds of tree, but for some kinds of tree it is pragmatically more often required. So for example, without context "three apples" would mean the fruit; but if we are planning a garden we can say "I'm going to put three apples there" and unambiguously mean the tree. Mar 23, 2011 at 11:43
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The NOAD reports that one of the meaning of key is "the dry winged fruit of an ash, maple, or sycamore maple, typically growing in bunches; a samara." I am not sure if in American English keys would be used to refer to maple fruits when they are not dry.– apadernoMar 23, 2011 at 12:08
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2@kiamlaluno: in AmE, key can be used to refer to the winged fruit thing whether it is dry on the ground, still attached to the tree, or spinning in the air in between.– MitchMar 23, 2011 at 14:11
Maple doesn't refer to the fruit (unlike say an apple tree) since the main product of the maple is the sap or products made from it. If you eat a "maple tart" or "maple cookie" it will taste (at least in theory) like the concentrated sap, not the tree itself. The adjective doesn't imply "maple tree". That said, "a maple" is unambiguously a maple tree. Same for "an elm", "an oak", and other trees whose main product is not the fruit. "An apple" could mean an apple tree but only in highly specific contexts, eg "He looked along the drive, admiring the trees - several elms, an apple, and three maples."
Finally, for completeness, you might say "a maple" to mean "a maple one" such as "what flavour donut should I get you? A maple?" or "We were looking at flooring options and we've settled on a nice maple." But that's the adjective at work again.