Juniper
name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Any shrub or tree of the genus Juniperus of the cypress family, which is characterized by pointed, needle-like leaves and aromatic berry-like cones. countable, uncountable
"On the mountains a few junipers and piñons are found, and cactuses, agave, and yuccas, low, fleshy plants with bayonets and thorns."
- 2 desert shrub of Syria and Arabia having small white flowers; constitutes the juniper of the Old Testament; sometimes placed in genus Genista wordnet
- 3 One of a number of coniferous trees which resemble junipers. countable, uncountable
- 4 wood of a coniferous shrub or small tree with berrylike cones wordnet
- 5 Gin. UK, archaic, countable, slang, uncountable
"[…] I said you didn't like them ere strong liquors, but if he warn't particular, I was sure you would pledge him in a glass of juniper, for I had always made you, since we had been man and vife^([sic]), take a drop afore you went to market, to keep cold out."
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- 6 coniferous shrub or small tree with berrylike cones wordnet
- 1 A surname from English.
- 2 A unisex given name from English.; A female given name from English.
- 3 A unisex given name from English.; A male given name from English.
Example
More examples"Rose, Juniper, Lily, and Camellia were all named after plants, as was Giant Corpse Flower, whose high school experience was far worse than theirs."
Etymology
From Late Middle English junyper, juniperus, from Latin iūniperus (“juniper-tree”).
A topographic surname from juniper. In some cases matronymic from an equivalent of Jennifer influenced by folk etymology.
Related phrases
More for "juniper"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.