hornbeam C2 Topic:Plants & Agriculture US /ˈhɔrnbiːm/ UK /ˈhɔːnbiːm/ See IPA manual Freq #100300 Meanings 1 noun a deciduous tree or shrub of the genus Carpinus, noted for smooth bark and very hard wood A mature hornbeam shaded the stream with its dense ridged branches. 2 noun the hard pale wood of a hornbeam tree The toolmaker chose hornbeam for handles that had to withstand repeated blows. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a deciduous tree or shrub... hornbeechironwoodmusclewood 2 noun · the hard pale wood of a... ironwood Word family Derived forms hophornbeam Related forms Carpinusbeechhardwood Etymology From horn, referring to the wood's hornlike hardness, and Old English beam, 'tree.' The name therefore means a tree with exceptionally hard wood rather than a tree shaped like a horn. Topics Plants & Agriculture External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # hornbeam **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈhɔrnbiːm/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈhɔːnbiːm/ **Frequency rank:** 100300 ## Meanings 1. a deciduous tree or shrub of the genus Carpinus, noted for smooth bark and very hard wood 2. the hard pale wood of a hornbeam tree ## Examples - A mature hornbeam shaded the stream with its dense ridged branches. - The toolmaker chose hornbeam for handles that had to withstand repeated blows. ## Synonyms - hornbeech - ironwood - musclewood ## Derived Forms - hophornbeam ## Related Forms - Carpinus - beech - hardwood ## Etymology From horn, referring to the wood's hornlike hardness, and Old English beam, 'tree.' The name therefore means a tree with exceptionally hard wood rather than a tree shaped like a horn. ## Topics - Plants & Agriculture markdown