aspen

comparative more aspen · superlative most aspen

1. Pertaining to the aspen tree.
2. obsoleteTremulous, trembling.

   And then poore Aspen wretch, neglected thou / Bath'd in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lye / A veryer ghost than I […].

   a. 1631 (date written), J[ohn] Donne, “The Apparition”, in Poems, […] with Elegies on the Authors Death, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Iohn Marriot, […], published 1633, →OCLC

3. obsoleteResembling an asp in some way
   1. obsoletewagging, gossiping.

plural aspens

1. A poplar tree, especially of section Populus sect. Populus, of medium-size trees with thin, straight trunks of a greenish-white color.

   Above a certain elevation, the aspens gave way to scrubby, gnarled pines.

   3 more examples

   ſtaggering like a quiuering Aſpen leafe, Fearing the force of Boreas boiſtrous blaſts.

   c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iv

   Instead there were the white of aspens, streaks of branch and slender trunk glistening from the green of leaves[…].

   1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC

   The beloved aspen forests that shimmer across mountainsides of the American West could be doomed if emissions of greenhouse gases continue at a high level, scientists warned on Monday. […] The new paper analyzed the drought and heat that killed millions of aspens in Colorado and nearby states a decade ago.

   2015 March 30, Justin Gillis, “Climate Change Threatens to Kill Off More Aspen Forests by 2050s, Scientists Say”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2020

2. uncountableThe wood of such a tree; usually pale, lightweight and soft.

   She claimed that aspen was the only "proper" material from which to make a wicker basket.

1. A ski-resort town, the county seat of Pitkin County, Colorado.
2. A small community in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia.
3. A female given name from English of modern usage, denominated for the aspen tree.
4. A surname.