What does willow mean?

Definitions for willow
ˈwɪl oʊwil·low

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word willow.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. willow, willow treenoun

    any of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix

  2. willownoun

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

Wiktionary

  1. willownoun

    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. willownoun

    A cricket bat

  3. willownoun

    The baseball bat.

  4. willownoun

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

  5. willowverb

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

  6. Willownoun

    of modern usage.

  7. Etymology: 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’.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Willownoun

    salix, Lat. A tree worn by forlorn lovers.

    Etymology: welie , Saxon,

    It hath amentaceous flowers consisting of several stamina, which are collected into a spike but are barren. The embryoes are produced upon different trees from the male flowers, and afterwards become a fruit or husk, shaped like a cone, opening in two parts, and containing downy seeds. Mil.

    I offered him my company to a willow tree, to make him a garland, as being forsaken, to bind him up a rod, as being worthy to be whipt. William Shakespeare.

    In such a night
    Stood Dido with a willow in her hand
    Upon the wild sea banks. William Shakespeare.

    Tell him, in hope he’ll prove a widower shortly,
    I wear the willow garland for his sake. William Shakespeare.

    When heaven’s burning eye the fields invades,
    To marshes he resorts, obscur’d with reeds,
    And hoary willows, which the moisture feeds. George Sandys.

    Afflicted Israel shall sit weeping down,
    Their harps upon the neighb’ring willows hung,
    Nor joyous hymn encouraging their tongue. Matthew Prior.

Wikipedia

  1. Willow

    Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus Salix, comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. 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 (from Old English sealh, related to the Latin word salix, willow). Some willows (particularly arctic and alpine species) are low-growing or creeping shrubs; for example, the dwarf willow (Salix herbacea) rarely exceeds 6 centimetres (2+1⁄2 in) in height, though it spreads widely across the ground.

ChatGPT

  1. willow

    A willow is a type of tree or shrub that belongs to the genus Salix, within the family Salicaceae. Known for their slender branches and leaves, willows are typically found in moist soils in cold and temperate regions around the world. Some varieties, known as weeping willows, have branches that hang down to the ground. Willows are also used for the production of a type of painkiller named aspirin due to their salicin content.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Willownoun

    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. Willownoun

    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. Willowverb

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

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

Wikidata

  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

  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

  1. willow

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

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. WILLOW

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Willow is ranked #28998 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Willow surname appeared 819 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Willow.

    75.5% or 619 total occurrences were White.
    15.3% or 126 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
    3.7% or 31 total occurrences were Black.
    3.3% or 27 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    0.9% or 8 total occurrences were Asian.
    0.9% or 8 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

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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. Nagruk Harcharek:

    Willow presents an opportunity to continue that investment in the communities, without that money and revenue stream, we’re reliant on the state and the feds.

  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.

  3. Erin Scott -RRB- LaRosa:

    A farm cat from Pennsylvania, Willow made quite an impression on Dr. Biden in 2020 when she jumped up on the stage and interrupted her remarks during a campaign stop, seeing their immediate bond, the owner of the farm knew that Willow belonged with Dr. Biden.

  4. Getty Images:

    While not immediate, the Willow project in [the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska] is nearly shovel-ready and can provide a domestic source of oil, between the development of NPRA and the longer-term ‘1002 Area’ of ANWR, Alaska could place an additional 17 billion barrels of oil and an additional 32 trillion cubic feet of gas in the marketplace.

  5. Lisa Murkowski:

    I’ve been pretty persistent on this, let’s just say, any conversation I’ve ever had with the White House, anyone close to the White House, I’ve brought up the subject of Willow.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

willow#1#9796#10000

Translations for willow

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"willow." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/willow>.

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