abildtre

Norwegian Bokmål

An old apple tree in Toten, Norway.

Etymology

abild +‎ tre, from Danish abild (“European crab apple”), from Old Danish apæld, from Old Norse apaldr (“apple tree”), from Proto-Germanic *apaldraz (“apple tree”). Last part from Old Norse tré (“tree; beam”), from Proto-Germanic *trewą (“tree”), from pre-Germanic *dréwom, from Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree”), possibly from *drew- (“hard, firm, strong, solid”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑːbɪltreː/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eː
• Hyphenation: ab‧ild‧tre

Noun

abildtre n (definite singular abildtreet, indefinite plural abildtre or abildtrær, definite plural abildtrea or abildtrærne)

1. (poetic, obsolete) an apple tree (any tree that bears apples, principally Malus domestica but also certain wild species)

   Synonyms: abild, epletre, apal, apaltre

   • 1907, Johan Sebastian Welhaven, Samlede Digterverker II, page 278:

     abildtræet strøer sin hvide blomst derpaa

     the apple tree sprinkles its white flower on it

   • 1853, Henrik Wergeland, Samlede Skrifter III, page 546:

     ved den krystalne bræ blomstrer snehvidt abildtræ

     by the crystalline glacier snow-white apple-tree blooms

References

• “abildtre” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).