Function: noun
Date: 1731
1 : a maple ( Acer saccharum ) of eastern No. America with 3- to 5-lobed leaves, hard close-grained wood much used for cabinetwork, and sap that is the chief source of maple syrup and maple sugar ― called also rock maple hard maple
2 : any of several maples (esp. Acer nigrum and A. grandidentatum ) often considered subspecies of the sugar maple