alder

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various deciduous shrubs or trees of the genus Alnus, native chiefly to northern temperate regions and having alternate simple toothed leaves and tiny fruits in woody, conelike catkins.
2. n. The wood of these plants, used in carvings and for making furniture and cabinets.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The popular name of shrubs and trees belonging to the genus Alnus, natural order Cupuliferæ. The common alder of Europe is Alnus glutinosa. In the eastern United States the common species are the smooth alder, A. serrulata, and the speckled alder, A. incana. Both are also known as black alder. These are usually tall shrubs, rarely small trees. The alders of the Pacific coast, A. rhombifolia and A. rubra, frequently grow to be trees of medium size. The bark of the alder has been used in several parts of the world as one of the materials for dyeing black along with copperas or iron liquor, and also in obtaining other colors, as brownish yellow or orange. See Alnus.
2. n. A name of species of other widely different genera, from their resemblance to true alders. The black or berry-bearing alder of Europe is the alder-buckthorn, Rhamnus Frangula. In southern Africa the name red alder is given to the Cunonia Capensis, and white alder to Platylophustrifoliatus, both saxifragaceous shrubs. In North America the Ilex verticillata is sometimes called black alder, the Rhamnus alnifolia dwarf alder, and the Clethra alnifolia white alder.
3. n. An old form of elder.
4. The Middle English genitive plural of all. From its common occurrence before adjectives in the superlative it came to be regarded as a prefix of such adjectives: as, alder-first, first of all; alder-best, best of all; alder-liefest or alder-lievest, dearest of all. It is also used, in the form aller, with the genitive plural of personal pronouns: as, youre aller, of all of you; oure aller, of all of us; here aller, of all of them.
5. n. A shrub of the genus Fothergilla, of the southeastern United States.
6. n. Alnus rhombifolia, of the western United States.
7. n. The striped maple, Acer Pennsylvanicum.

Wiktionary

1. n. Any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Alnus, belonging to the birch family.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Bot.) A tree, usually growing in moist land, and belonging to the genus Alnus. The wood is used by turners, etc.; the bark by dyers and tanners. In the U. S. the species of alder are usually shrubs or small trees.
2. adj. obsolete Of all; -- used in composition.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. north temperate shrubs or trees having toothed leaves and conelike fruit; bark is used in tanning and dyeing and the wood is rot-resistant
2. n. wood of any of various alder trees; resistant to underwater rot; used for bridges etc