Larch
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A coniferous tree, of genus Larix, having deciduous leaves, in fascicles. countable
"The Larch-tree, with us, groweth slowly, and to be found in few places; it hath a rugged bark, and boughts that branch in good order, with divers small yellowish bunched eminences, set thereon at several distances, from whence tufts of many small, long, and narrow smooth leaves do yearly come forth; it beareth among the green leaves many beautiful flowers, which are of a fine crimson colour […]"
- 2 any of numerous conifers of the genus Larix all having deciduous needlelike leaves wordnet
- 3 Wood of the larch. uncountable
"Old Peter was up early too, harnessing the little yellow horse into the old cart. The cart was of rough wood, without springs, like a big box fixed on long larch poles between two pairs of wheels. The larch poles did instead of springs, bending and creaking, as the cart moved over the forest track."
- 4 wood of a larch tree wordnet
- 1 A surname from German.
Example
More examples"In every direction the great snow-capped peaks hemmed them in, peeping over each other's shoulders to the far horizon. So steep were the rocky banks on either side of them that the larch and the pine seemed to be suspended over their heads, and to need only a gust of wind to come hurtling down upon them."
Etymology
From early modern German Larche, Lärche, from Middle High German larche, from Old High German larihha, early borrowing from Latin larix, itself possibly of Gaulish origin. In the first century AD, Vitruvius wrote that the tree was given the Latin name "larigna" when the Romans discovered it at the town of Larignum.
Borrowed from German Larch.
Related phrases
More for "larch"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.