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Webster 1913 Edition


Elm

Elm

,
Noun.
[AS.
elm
; akin to D.
olm
, OHG.
elm
, G.
ulme
, Icel.
almr
, Dan. & Sw.
alm
, L.
ulmus
, and E.
alder
. Cf.
Old
.]
(Bot.)
A tree of the genus
Ulmus
, of several species, much used as a shade tree, particularly in America. The English elm is
Ulmus campestris
; the common American or white elm is
U. Americana
; the slippery or red elm,
U. fulva
.
Elm beetle
(Zoöl.)
,
one of several species of beetles (esp.
Galeruca calmariensis
), which feed on the leaves of the elm.
–
Elm borer
(Zoöl.)
,
one of several species of beetles of which the larvæ bore into the wood or under the bark of the elm (esp.
Saperda tridentata
).
–
Elm butterfly
(Zoöl.)
,
one of several species of butterflies, which, in the caterpillar state, feed on the leaves of the elm (esp.
Vanessa antiopa
and
Grapta comma
). See
Comma butterfly
, under
Comma
.
–
Elm moth
(Zoöl.)
,
one of numerous species of moths of which the larvæ destroy the leaves of the elm (esp.
Eugonia subsignaria
, called elm spanworm).
–
Elm sawfly
(Zoöl.)
,
a large sawfly (
Cimbex Americana
). The larva, which is white with a black dorsal stripe, feeds on the leaves of the elm.

Webster 1828 Edition


Elm

ELM

,
Noun.
[L. ulmus.] A tree of the genus Ulmus. The common elm is one of the largest and most majestic trees of the forest, and is cultivated for shade and ornament. Another species, the fulva, is called slippery elm, from the quality of its inner bark. One species seems to have been used to support vines.
The treaty which William Penn made with the natives in 1682 was negotiated under a large Elm which grew on the spot now called Kensington, just above Philadelphia. It was prostrated by a storm in 1810, at which time its stem measured 24 feet in circumference.