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osier - 5 dictionary results

o⋅sier

  [oh-zher]
Use osier in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of various willows, as the red osier, having tough, flexible twigs or branches that are used for wickerwork.
2. a twig from such a willow.
3. any of various North American dogwoods.
Origin:
1300–50; ME < MF; akin to ML ausāria willow bed

Related forms:
osiered, adjective
o⋅sier⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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o·sier   (ō'zhər)   
n.  
    1. Any of several willows having long rodlike twigs used in basketry, especially the Eurasian Salix viminalis and S. purpurea.
    2. A twig of one of these trees.
  2. Any of various similar or related trees.

[Middle English, from Old English oser and Old French osier, both from Medieval Latin osera, osiera.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Osier

O"sier\, n. [F. osier: cf. Prov. F. oisis, Armor. ozil, aozil, Gr. ?, ?, ?, L. vitex, and E. withy.] (Bot.) (a) A kind of willow (Salix viminalis) growing in wet places in Europe and Asia, and introduced into North America. It is considered the best of the willows for basket work. The name is sometimes given to any kind of willow. (b) One of the long, pliable twigs of this plant, or of other similar plants.

The rank of osiers by the murmuring stream. --Shak.

Osier bed, or Osier holt, a place where willows are grown for basket making. [Eng.]

Red osier. (a) A kind of willow with reddish twigs (Salix rubra). (b) An American shrub (Cornus stolonifera) which has slender red branches; -- also called osier cornel.

Osier

O"sier\, a. Made of osiers; composed of, or containing, osiers. "This osier cage of ours." --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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osier 
species of willow used in basket-work, c.1300, from O.Fr. osier "willow twig" (13c.), from M.L. osera "willow," ausaria "willow bed," of unknown origin, perhaps from Gaulish.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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