willow
Use Willow in a sentence
oʊ noun
1.
any tree or shrub of the genus Salix, characterized by narrow, lance-shaped leaves and dense catkins bearing small flowers, many species having tough, pliable twigs or branches used for wickerwork, etc. Compare willow family.
2.
the wood of any of these trees.
3.
Informal. something, especially a cricket bat, made of willow wood.
verb (used with object)
5.
to treat (textile fibers) with a willow.
00:10
Willow
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to flee; abscond: |
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
Origin:
before 900; Middle English wilwe, variant of wilghe, Old English welig; cognate with Old Saxon wilgia, Dutch wilg, Low German wilge
before 900; Middle English wilwe, variant of wilghe, Old English welig; cognate with Old Saxon wilgia, Dutch wilg, Low German wilge
Related forms
wil·low·like, adjective
wil·low·ish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To willow
Collins
World English Dictionary
willow (ˈwɪləʊ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | any of numerous salicaceous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix, such as the weeping willow and osiers of N temperate regions, which have graceful flexible branches, flowers in catkins, and feathery seeds |
| 2. | the whitish wood of certain of these trees |
| 3. | something made of willow wood, such as a cricket or baseball bat |
| 4. | a machine having a system of revolving spikes for opening and cleaning raw textile fibres |
| [Old English welig; related to wilige wicker basket, Old Saxon wilgia, Middle High German wilge, Greek helikē willow, helix twisted] | |
| 'willowish | |
| —adj | |
| 'willow-like | |
| —adj | |
| Willow | |
| —n | |
| a small town in S Alaska, about 113 km (70 miles) northwest of Anchorage: chosen as the site of the projected new state capital in 1976, a plan which never came to fruition. Pop: 1658 (2000) | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
willow
O.E. welig, from P.Gmc. *walg- (cf. O.S. wilgia, M.Du. wilghe, Du. wilg), probably from PIE *wel- "to turn, roll," with derivatives referring to curved, enclosing objects. The change in form to -ow (14c.) paralleled that of bellow and fellow.
The more typical Gmc. word for the tree is represented by withy. Willowy "flexible and graceful" is attested from 1791.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
In the center, a marooned willow wept, with no pool.
She was sitting on an ivory settee, crocheting something or other, and had her crewels in a shallow willow work-basket in her lap.
Halfway to the bottom, the desert opened, then practically vanished into stands of willow and cottonwood.
Willow oak is long lived and fast growing, and it is widely planted as a landscape tree.
Nearby Words
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