Willow

//ˈwɪloʊ// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A female given name from English of modern usage.

    "Before he died her father had run a nursery just outside the town. He loved trees so much he'd even named his two daughters and one son after them: Willow, Ashley and Oak."

  2. 2
    A census-designated place in Alaska.
  3. 3
    A town in Oklahoma.
  4. 4
    A town in Wisconsin.
Noun
  1. 1
    Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs in the genus Salix, in the willow family Salicaceae, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the northern hemisphere. countable, uncountable

    "[…] and through the middle of this forest, from wall to wall, ran a winding line of brilliant green which marked the course of cottonwoods and willows."

  2. 2
    a textile machine having a system of revolving spikes for opening and cleaning raw textile fibers wordnet
  3. 3
    The wood of these trees. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    any of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix wordnet
  5. 5
    A cricket bat. colloquial, countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    The baseball bat. countable, slang, uncountable
  2. 7
    A rotating spiked drum used to open and clean cotton heads. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To open and cleanse (cotton, flax, wool, etc.) by means of a willow. transitive
  2. 2
    To form a shape or move in a way similar to the long, slender branches of a willow. intransitive

    "Willowing over the rough cobbles of the little pier stepped a thin, bent figure, adorned with a silver nanny-goat's beard and bobbling eyes interrupted by the rim of a pair of pince-nez."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English wilwe, welew, variant of wilghe, from Old English welig, from Proto-West Germanic *wilig, from Proto-Germanic *wiligaz, from Proto-Indo-European *welik- (compare (Arcadian) Ancient Greek ἑλίκη (helíkē), Hittite 𒌑𒂖𒆪 (welku, “grass”)), from *wel- (“twist, turn”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English wilwe, welew, variant of wilghe, from Old English welig, from Proto-West Germanic *wilig, from Proto-Germanic *wiligaz, from Proto-Indo-European *welik- (compare (Arcadian) Ancient Greek ἑλίκη (helíkē), Hittite 𒌑𒂖𒆪 (welku, “grass”)), from *wel- (“twist, turn”).

Etymology 3

From willow.

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