Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
willow [wil-oh] ExamplesWord Origin noun
- 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.
- the wood of any of these trees.
- Informal. something, especially a cricket bat, made of willow wood.
- Also called willower, willy. a machine consisting essentially of a cylinder armed with spikes revolving within a spiked casing, for opening and cleaning cotton or other fiber.
verb (used with object)
- to treat (textile fibers) with a willow.
Origin of willow before 900; Middle English wilwe, variant of wilghe, Old English welig; cognate with Old Saxon wilgia, Dutch wilg, Low German wilge Related formswil·low·like, adjectivewil·low·ish, adjective Examples from the Web for willowed Historical Examples of willowed
Captive Israel are seated, in mute despondency, by the willowed banks of the streams of Babylon.
The Hart and the Water-Brooks;
John R. Macduff
Harry led forth his followers,Down by the willowed pond, Past the old grey turnstile,And into the woods beyond.
Various
We are fast to a willowed shore, and are preparing lines to try our luck at catching a Catfish or so.
Audubon and his Journals, Volume I (of 2)
Maria R. Audubon
It was perhaps half a mile wide, with flat, willowed mud banks on one side and low shelves of stratified limestone on the other.
T.S. Stribling
I love it very much for it led to the very edge of a willowed bluff—to the end of the land.
Will Levington Comfort
British Dictionary definitions for willowed willow noun
- 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
- the whitish wood of certain of these trees
- something made of willow wood, such as a cricket or baseball bat
- a machine having a system of revolving spikes for opening and cleaning raw textile fibres
Derived Formswillowish or willow-like, adjectiveWord Origin for willow Old English welig; related to wilige wicker basket, Old Saxon wilgia, Middle High German wilge, Greek helikē willow, helix twisted Willow noun
- 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)
Word Origin and History for willowed willow n.
Old English welig, from Proto-Germanic *walg- (cf. Old Saxon wilgia, Middle Dutch wilghe, Dutch 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 Germanic word for the tree is represented by withy.