deciduous
落葉性の
解説 Definition
季節に応じて葉を落とす植物の性質。秋に紅葉し冬に落葉する樹木を表す。
Deciduous describes a tree or plant that loses its leaves every year, usually in autumn. It is a common word in biology, nature, and gardening. It is often used in contrast with "evergreen," which keeps its leaves year-round.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
まずは単独でなく deciduous tree（落葉樹）, deciduous forest（落葉樹林）の形で覚えると定着しやすい語です。植物分野で出やすく、日常語の evergreen（常緑の）と対にすると意味が整理できます。語尾の -ous は famous, dangerous と同じ形容詞語尾なので「性質を表す形容詞」と見抜けます。fall leaves in season する木、つまり一年中 green ではない木だと場面ごと覚えるのが有効です。coniferous（針葉樹の）と混同しないよう注意。
Learn it as part of deciduous tree or deciduous forest, not alone. The ending -ous is a common adjective ending, so it helps you spot it as a describing word. Pair it with evergreen as its contrast. Think of trees that are not green all year and change with the season.
例文
The forest was mostly deciduous, so the trails were blanketed with leaves each autumn.
森はほとんど落葉樹林だったので、秋になると小道は葉で覆われた。
Deciduous trees in this region lose their leaves before the first frost.
この地方の落葉樹は初霜の前に葉を落とす。
Walking through the deciduous woods, she enjoyed how sunlight filtered through the bare branches.
落葉樹林を歩きながら、裸の枝の合間から差し込む日差しを楽しんだ。
deciduous の類義語・関連語
deciduous の語源・成り立ち Etymology
ラテン語 deciduus「落ちる、脱落する」が語源で、さらに decidere「落ちる」へさかのぼる。de-「離れて」+ cadere「落ちる」の形で、葉が季節ごとに落ちる木だから「落葉性の」となる。同根語に decay, accident がある。
Deciduous comes from Latin `deciduus`, meaning "falling," from `decidere`, "to fall down." It is made from `de-` meaning "down, away" and `cadere` meaning "to fall." The word came to describe trees whose leaves fall off seasonally; English words like `decay` and `accident` share the same ancient root.
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