hackmatack

Meaning

Noun

• A larch, a tree of the species Larix laricina (species).
• A balsam poplar, a tree of the species Populus balsamifera (species).

Related

Similar words

• tamarack, tacamahac

Origin

• Believed to derive from Abenaki, though no specific etymon has been found. The term is first attested in the 1760s–90s, when it was spelled hakmantak and referred to dense forest.
• In the 19th century, some authorities questioned if tacamahac, tamarack and hackmatack could be cognate to one another, perhaps all corruptions of one term, but such cognacy is unlikely.
• Compare the late 19th century German Low German term Hackemtackem.