Willow

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈwɪl.əʊ/
• Rhymes: -ɪləʊ
• US IPA: /ˈwɪloÊŠ/
• Rhymes: -ɪloÊŠ

Origin

Middle English wilwe, welew, variant of wilghe, from Old English weliġ, from Proto-Germanic *wiligaz (compare West Frisian wylch, Dutch wilg), from Proto-Indo-European *wel-ik- (compare Ancient Greek (Arcadian) ἑλίκη, Hittite 𒌑𒂖𒆪 (welku, "grass")), from *wel- ‘twist, turn’.

Full definition of willow

Noun

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.
• Grey Riders|8Instead there were the white of aspens, streaks of branch and slender trunk glistening from the green of leaves, and the darker green of oaks, ...
  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. (cricket, colloquial) A cricket bat
3. (baseball, slang, 1800s) The baseball bat.
4. A rotating spiked drum used to open and clean cotton heads.

Synonyms

• withy

Derived terms

• weeping willow
• willow in the wind

Verb

1. (transitive) To open and cleanse (cotton, flax, wool, etc.) by means of a willow.