hardwood

noun

1. the hard, compact wood or timber of various trees, as the oak, cherry, maple, or mahogany.
2. a tree yielding such wood.

adjective

3. made or constructed of hardwood: a hardwood floor.

noun

1. the wood of any of numerous broad-leaved dicotyledonous trees, such as oak, beech, ash, etc, as distinguished from the wood of a conifer
2. any tree from which this wood is obtained

n.

1560s, from hard + wood. From deciduous trees, distinguished from that of pines and firs.

1. A eudicot or magnoliid tree, especially as distinguished from a coniferous, or softwood, tree.
2. The wood of a eudicot or magnoliid tree. Hardwoods are in general harder than softwood. However, some hardwoods, such as basswood, are comparatively soft, while some softwoods, such as yew, are comparatively hard.