Elm

/ɛlm/ noun

Definition

A large shade tree with broad leaves, once common in cities but now rare due to disease.

Etymology

From Old English 'elm,' from Proto-Germanic *elmaz, possibly related to Sanskrit and ancient Indo-European tree names that traveled across continents.

Kelly Says

American elm trees once created cathedral-like canopies over city streets, but Dutch elm disease killed 99% of them—seeing a historic elm tree today is like finding a living fossil, a survivor of an ecological catastrophe.

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