Casuarina
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Any of numerous trees, of the genera Casuarina and Allocasuarina, having segmented needle-like leaves; especially the ironwood and beefwood; she-oak.
"1894, Ivan Dexter, Talmud: A Strange Narrative of Central Australia, published in serial form in Port Adelaide News and Lefevre's Peninsula Advertiser (SA), Chapter III, http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks16/1600641.txt […] the noise made by the beating of the waves on the land and the sighing of the wind amongst the pendulous leaves—or rather pendant fringe of the casuarina or she-oak, those aeolian harps of the Australian bush, almost drowned their voices."
- 2 any of various trees and shrubs of the genus Casuarina having jointed stems and whorls of scalelike leaves; some yield heavy hardwood wordnet
Example
More examples"1894, Ivan Dexter, Talmud: A Strange Narrative of Central Australia, published in serial form in Port Adelaide News and Lefevre's Peninsula Advertiser (SA), Chapter III, http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks16/1600641.txt […] the noise made by the beating of the waves on the land and the sighing of the wind amongst the pendulous leaves—or rather pendant fringe of the casuarina or she-oak, those aeolian harps of the Australian bush, almost drowned their voices."
Etymology
From the genus name, ultimately a derivative of Malay kasuari (“cassowary”), from the resemblance of the leaves to the bird's feathers.
Related phrases
More for "casuarina"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.