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YEW
yew
(noun) any of numerous evergreen trees or shrubs having red cup-shaped berries and flattened needlelike leaves
yew
(noun) wood of a yew; especially the durable fine-grained light brown or red wood of the English yew valued for cabinetwork and archery bows
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
yew (countable and uncountable, plural yews)
(countable) A species of coniferous tree, Taxus baccata, with dark-green flat needle-like leaves and seeds bearing red arils, native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia.
(countable, by extension) Any tree or shrub of the genus Taxus.
Other conifers resembling plants in genus Taxus
in family Podocarpaceae
in family Cephalotaxaceae
(uncountable) The wood of the such trees.
A bow for archery, made of yew wood.
Synonyms
• (Taxus baccata): English yew, European yew, common yew
Adjective
yew (not comparable)
Made from the wood of the yew tree.
Synonym: yewen
Anagrams
• Wey, Wye, wey, wye
Source: Wiktionary
Yew, v. i.
Definition: See Yaw.
Yew, n. Etym: [OE. ew, AS. eów, iw, eoh; akin to D. ijf, OHG. iwa, iha, G. eibe, Icel. ; cf. Ir. iubhar, Gael. iubhar, iughar, W. yw, ywen, Lith. jëva the black alder tree.]
1. (Bot.)
Definition: An evergreen tree (Taxus baccata) of Europe, allied to the pines, but having a peculiar berrylike fruit instead of a cone. It frequently grows in British churchyards.
2. The wood of the yew. It is light red in color, compact, fine- grained, and very elastic. It is preferred to all other kinds of wood for bows and whipstocks, the best for these purposes coming from Spain.
Note: The American yew (Taxus baccata, var. Canadensis) is a low and straggling or prostrate bush, never forming an erect trunk. The California yew (Taxus brevifolia) is a good-sized tree, and its wood is used for bows, spear handles, paddles, and other similar implements. Another yew is found in Florida, and there are species in Japan and the Himalayas.
3. A bow for shooting, made of the yew.
Yew (u), a.
Definition: Of or pertaining to yew trees; made of the wood of a yew tree; as, a yew whipstock.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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