cedar

noun

1. any of several Old World, coniferous trees of the genus Cedrus, having wide, spreading branches.Compare cedar of Lebanon.
2. any of various junipers, as the red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, of the cypress family, having reddish-brown bark and dark-blue, berrylike fruit.
3. any of various other coniferous trees.Compare incense cedar, white cedar.
4. any of several trees belonging to the genus Cedrela, of the mahogany family, as the Spanish cedar.
5. Also called cedarwood. the fragrant wood of any of these trees, used in furniture and as a moth repellent.

noun

1. any Old World coniferous tree of the genus Cedrus, having spreading branches, needle-like evergreen leaves, and erect barrel-shaped cones: family PinaceaeSee also cedar of Lebanon, deodar
2. any of various other conifers, such as the red cedars and white cedars
3. the wood of any of these trees
4. any of certain other plants, such as the Spanish cedar

adjective

5. made of the wood of a cedar tree

n.

Old English ceder, blended in Middle English with Old French cedre, both from Latin cedrus, from Greek kedros “cedar, juniper,” origin uncertain. Cedar oil was used by the Egyptians in embalming as a preservative against decay and the word for it was used figuratively for “immortality” by the Romans. Cedar chest attested from 1722. Related: Cedrine.