saplingPronunciation: /ˈsaplɪŋ/Translate sapling | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish Definition of sapling noun 1a young tree, especially one with a slender trunk. literary a young and slender or inexperienced person: what god or mortal reared up so fair a sapling? 2a greyhound in its first year. Origin: Middle English: from the noun sap1 + -lingsapling in other Oxford dictionaries Definition of sapling in the US English dictionary