• Green

    Pronunciation

    • UK IPA: /ɡɹiːn/
    • US IPA: /ɡɹin/
    • Rhymes: -iːn

    Origin

    From Middle English grene, from Old English grēne, from Proto-Germanic *grōniz (compare West Frisian grien, Dutch groen, Low German grön, green, greun, German grün, Swedish grön Danish grøn), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrōni- (compare Old Church Slavonic грань (granĭ, "branch")), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁ ("to grow"). More at grow.

    Full definition of green

    Adjective

    green

    1. Having green as its color.
      • 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 8, The day was cool and snappy for August, and the Rise all green with a lavish nature. Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet:....
    2. (figurative) Of people.
      1. Sickly, unwell.
        Sally looks pretty green — is she going to be sick?
      2. Inexperienced.
        John's kind of green, so take it easy on him this first week.
        • Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)I might be angry with the officious zeal which supposes that its green conceptions can instruct my grey hairs.
      3. Naïve or unaware of obvious facts.
      4. Overcome with envy.
        He was green with envy.
      5. Environmentally friendly.
        Let's buy green copier paper for the office.
        • 2013-05-10, Audrey Garric, Urban canopies let nature bloom, As towns continue to grow, replanting vegetation has become a form of urban utopia and green roofs are spreading fast. Last year 1m square metres of plant-covered roofing was built in France, as much as in the US, and 10 times more than in Germany, the pioneer in this field.
      6. (figurative) Of things.
        1. (cricket) Describing a pitch which, even if there is no visible grass, still contains a significant amount of moisture.
        2. (dated) Of bacon or similar smallgoods, unprocessed, raw, unsmoked; not smoked or spiced.“unsmoked bacon used to be called green bacon, though the term is losing currency” Delia Online: Bacon, including gammon
        3. (dated) Not fully roasted; half raw.
          • Isaac Watts (1674-1748)We say the meat is green when half roasted.
        4. Unripe, said of certain fruits that change color when they ripen.
        5. Of freshly cut wood or lumber that has not been dried, containing moisture and therefore relatively more flexible or springy.
          That timber is still too green to be used.
        6. (wine) High or too high in acidity.
        7. Full of life and vigour; fresh and vigorous; new; recent.
          a green manhood;   a green wound
          • Edmund Burke (1729-1797)as valid against such an old and beneficent government as against...the greenest usurpation

    Synonyms

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    Derived terms

    Only
    Terms derived from the adjective green"green-fingered" * green fingers, green-gilled"greengrocer" * green grosbeak"greenhouse" * greenie

    Noun

    green

    (plural greens)
    1. The colour of growing foliage, as well as other plant cells containing chlorophyll; the colour between yellow and blue in the visible spectrum; one of the primary additive colour for transmitted light; the colour obtained by subtracting red and blue from white light using cyan and yellow filters.
    2. (politics, sometimes capitalised) A member of a green party; an environmentalist.
    3. (golf) A putting green, the part of a golf course near the hole.
    4. (bowls) The surface upon which bowls is played.
    5. (snooker) One of the colour balls used in snooker, with a value of 3 points.
    6. (British) a public patch of land in the middle of a settlement.
    7. A grassy plain; a piece of ground covered with verdant herbage.
      • Miltono'er the smooth enamelled green
    8. (mostly, in plural) Fresh leaves or branches of trees or other plants; wreaths.
      • Alexander PopeIn that soft season when descending showers
        Call forth the greens, and wake the rising flowers.
    9. Any substance or pigment of a green colour.
    10. (British, slang, uncountable) marijuana.
    11. (US, uncountable) Money.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    These
    Terms derived from the noun green"wintergreen"

    Related terms

    Verb

    1. (transitive) To make (something) green, to turn (something) green.
      • ThomsonGreat spring before greened all the year.
    2. To become or grow green in colour.By greening slope and singing flood. — Whittier.
    3. (transitive) To add greenspaces to (a town).
    4. (intransitive) To become environmentally aware.
    5. (transitive) To make (something) environmentally friendly.

    Synonyms

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