means A deciduous tree of the genus Acer, known for its lobed leaves, winged seeds, and sap that can be boiled down into syrup and sugar.

from From Old English mapel or mapul, used in compounds like mapeltreow, 'maple tree.' Its deeper roots are Germanic and a bit murky, possibly tied to words for the tree across the old northern tongues, though the trail goes cold before it gets anywhere certain. The genus name Acer is Latin for 'maple,' a word that also meant 'sharp'—fittingly, since the wood was prized for spears and the leaves come to keen points.