yew

Y y

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [yoo]
- /yu/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [yoo]
- /yu/

Definitions of yew word

noun yew any of several evergreen, coniferous trees and shrubs of the genera Taxus and Torreya, constituting the family Taxaceae, of the Old World, North America, and Japan, having needlelike or scalelike foliage and seeds enclosed in a fleshy aril. 1
noun yew the fine-grained, elastic wood of any of these trees. 1
noun yew an archer's bow made of this wood. 1
noun yew this tree or its branches as a symbol of sorrow, death, or resurrection. 1
noun yew A coniferous tree that has red berrylike fruits, and most parts of which are highly poisonous. Yews are linked with folklore and superstition and can live to a great age; the timber is used in cabinetmaking and (formerly) to make longbows. 1
noun yew evergreen tree 1

See all 22 definitions of yew

Information block about the term

Origin of yew

First appearance:

before 900

One of the 4% oldest English words

before 900; Middle English ew(e), Old English ēow, ī(o)w; cognate with Old High German īga, īwa (Middle High German īwe, German Eibe), Old Norse ýr, MIr eó yew (Old Irish: stem, shaft), Welsh ywen yew tree, Russian íva willow

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Yew

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Yew

yew popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 86% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

Matching words

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yew