Definitions for willow
ˈwɪl oʊwil·low

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. willow, willow tree(noun)

   any of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix

2. willow(noun)

   a textile machine having a system of revolving spikes for opening and cleaning raw textile fibers

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. willow(Noun)

   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.

2. willow(Noun)

   A cricket bat

3. willow(Noun)

   The baseball bat.

4. willow(Noun)

   A rotating, spiked drum used to open, and clean cotton heads

5. willow(Verb)

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

6. Willow(ProperNoun)

   of modern usage.

Origin: wilwe, welew, variant of wilghe, from welig, from weligaz (compare West Frisian wylch, Dutch wilg), from u̯elig- (compare Ancient Greek (Arcadian) ἑλίκη, Hittite ‘grass’), from - ‘twist, turn’.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Willow(noun)

   any tree or shrub of the genus Salix, including many species, most of which are characterized often used as an emblem of sorrow, desolation, or desertion. "A wreath of willow to show my forsaken plight." Sir W. Scott. Hence, a lover forsaken by, or having lost, the person beloved, is said to wear the willow

2. Willow(noun)

   a machine in which cotton or wool is opened and cleansed by the action of long spikes projecting from a drum which revolves within a box studded with similar spikes; -- probably so called from having been originally a cylindrical cage made of willow rods, though some derive the term from winnow, as denoting the winnowing, or cleansing, action of the machine. Called also willy, twilly, twilly devil, and devil

3. Willow(verb)

   to open and cleanse, as cotton, flax, or wool, by means of a willow. See Willow, n., 2

Origin: [OE. wilowe, wilwe, AS. wilig, welig; akin to OD. wilge, D. wilg, LG. wilge. Cf. Willy.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Willow

   Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are referred to as sallow. Some willows are low-growing or creeping shrubs; for example, the dwarf willow rarely exceeds 6 cm in height, though it spreads widely across the ground.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Willow

   wil′ō, n. any tree or shrub of the genus Salix, having slender, pliant branches: the wood of the willow: a cricket-bat.—v.t. to beat with willow rods, as in cleaning cotton, &c.—adj. Will′owed, abounding with, or containing, willows.—n. Will′ow-herb, a perennial herb (Epilobium) of the evening primrose family—also Rose-bay, Bay-willow, French or Persian willow.—adj. Will′owish, like a willow, slender and supple.—ns. Will′ow-machine′, a machine for extracting dirt from hemp, cotton, &c.—also Will′ow; Will′ow-moth, a common British night-moth; Will′ow-war′bler, -wren, a small European sylviine bird; Will′ow-weed, one of various species of Polygonum or knot-weed: the purple loose-strife.—adj. Will′owy, abounding in willows: flexible, graceful.—n. Weep′ing-will′ow, a very ornamental species, a native of the East, much planted in Britain on account of its beautiful pendent twigs.—Bedford willow, a species whose bark is especially rich in salicin and in tannin; White, or Huntingdon, willow, the largest of British species, reaching a height of eighty feet. [A.S. welig; Low Ger. wilge, Dut. wilg.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. willow

   Song lyrics by willow -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by willow on the Lyrics.com website.

How to pronounce willow?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say willow in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of willow in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of willow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of willow in a Sentence

1. Native American Prayer:

   And the wind said May you be as strong as the oak, yet flexible as the birch may you stand as tall as the redwood, live gracefully as the willow and may you always bear fruit all your days on this earth.

2. Amandla Stenberg:

   It’s a really, really hard thing to be silenced. And it’s deeply bruising to fight against your identity and to mold yourself into shapes that you just should n’t be in, as someone who identifies as a black, bisexual woman, I’ve been through it, and it’s hurts. It’s awkward and it’s uncomfortable. But then I realized because of Solange [ Knowles ], and Ava DuVerney, and Willow [ Smith ], and all the black girls watching this right now, that there’s absolutely nothing to change.

Images & Illustrations of willow

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