Meanings
plural abeles · alternative arbeal
- The white poplar (Populus alba).First known use 13th c.
Six abeles i' the churchyard grow
1844, Elizabeth Barrett Browing, The Rhyme of the Duchess May, line 51 more example
But I account for my predilection, by the kind of pensive and melancholy peasure I used to feel, when in my childhood and early youth, I walked alone, in a long avenue of arbeal […].
1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 114
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna poplar that is widely cultivated in the United States; has white bark and leaves with whitish undersurfaces
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Dutchabeel
- Latinalbus“white”
- Medieval Latinalbellus“white poplar”
- Old Frenchaubel
- Middle Englishabelle, albell, aubel
- Englishabele
From Middle English abelle, albell, aubel, from Old French aubel, aubiel, from Medieval Latin albellus (“white poplar”), diminutive of Latin albus (“white”). Some forms after Middle Dutch abeel, from Old French.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with abele
Anagrams
Cite this entry
abele. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abele
“abele.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abele. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “abele,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/abele.
Source: abele on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.