1. willow(n = noun.plant) willow tree - any of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix;
is a kind of tree
is a member of genus salix, salix
has particulars: osier, huntingdon willow, salix alba, white willow, salix alba sericea, salix sericea, silky willow, silver willow, cricket-bat willow, salix alba caerulea, arctic willow, salix arctica, babylonian weeping willow, salix babylonica, weeping willow, salix blanda, salix pendulina, salix pendulina blanda, wisconsin weeping willow, pussy willow, salix discolor, sallow, almond-leaves willow, peach-leaved willow, peachleaf willow, salix amygdaloides, hoary willow, sage willow, salix candida, brittle willow, crack willow, salix fragilis, snap willow, prairie willow, salix humilis, dwarf willow, salix herbacea, gray willow, grey willow, salix cinerea, arroyo willow, salix lasiolepis, salix lucida, shining willow, black willow, salix nigra, swamp willow, bay willow, laurel willow, salix pentandra, balsam willow, salix pyrifolia, creeping willow, salix repens, salix sitchensis, silky willow, sitka willow, dwarf gray willow, dwarf grey willow, sage willow, salix tristis, bearberry willow, salix uva-ursi
2. willow(n = noun.artifact) - a textile machine having a system of revolving spikes for opening and cleaning raw textile fibers;
is a kind of textile machine
1. Any tree or shrub of the genus
"And I must wear the willow garland
For him that's dead or false to me." [1913 Webster]
2. 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
To open and cleanse, as cotton, flax, or wool, by means of a willow. See Willow,
willow, n.
1 a tree or shrub of the genus Salix, growing usu. near water in temperate climates, with small flowers borne on catkins, and pliant branches yielding osiers and timber for cricket-bats, baskets, etc.
2 a cricket-bat.
Idiom:
willow grouse a common European grouse, Lagopus lagopus, with brown breeding plumage and white winter plumage. willow-herb any plant of the genus Epilobium etc., esp. one with leaves like a willow and pale purple flowers. willow-pattern a conventional design representing a Chinese scene, often with a willow tree, of blue on white porcelain, stoneware, or earthenware. willow-warbler (or -wren) a small woodland bird, Phylloscopus trochilus, with a tuneful song.
Etymology:
OE welig
N lament, lamentation, wail, complaint, plaint, murmur, mutter, grumble, groan, moan, whine, whimper, sob, sigh, suspiration, heaving, deep sigh, cry, scream, howl, outcry, wail of woe, ululation, frown, scowl, tear, weeping, flood of tears, fit of crying, lacrimation, lachrymation, melting mood, weeping and gnashing of teeth, plaintiveness, languishment, condolence, mourning, weeds, willow, cypress, crape, deep mourning, sackcloth and ashes, lachrymatory, knell, deep death song, dirge, coronach, nenia, requiem, elegy, epicedium, threne, monody, threnody, jeremiad, jeremiade, ullalulla, mourner, grumbler, Noobe, Heraclitus, lamenting, in mourning, in sackcloth and ashes, sorrowing, sorrowful, mournful, tearful, lachrymose, plaintive, plaintful, querulous, querimonious, in the melting mood, threnetic, in tears, with tears in one's eyes, with moistened eyes, with watery eyes, bathed in tears, dissolved in tears, like Niobe all tears, elegiac, epicedial, de profundis, les larmes aux yeux, Int, heigh-ho!, alas!, alack!, O dear!, ah me!, woe is me!, lackadaisy!, well a day!, lack a day!, alack a day!, wellaway!, alas the day!, O tempora O mores!, what a pity!, miserabile dictu!, O lud lud!, too true!, tears standing in the eyes, tears starting from the eyes, eyes suffused, eyes swimming, eyes brimming, eyes overflowing with tears, if you have tears prepare to shed them now, interdum lacrymae pondera vocis habent, strangled his language in his tears, tears such as angels weep.
almond willow, almond-leaves willow, arctic willow, arroyo willow, babylonian weeping willow, balsam willow, basket willow, bay willow, bearberry willow, black willow, brittle willow, bush willow, crack willow, creeping willow, cricket-bat willow, desert willow, dwarf gray willow, dwarf grey willow, dwarf willow, florist's willow, goat willow, golden willow, gray willow, grey willow, hemp willow, hoary willow, huntingdon willow, laurel willow, peach-leaved willow, peachleaf willow, prairie willow, purple willow, pussy willow, red willow, sage willow, sea willow, shining willow, silky willow, silver willow, sitka willow, snap willow, swamp willow, water willow, weeping willow, white willow, willow aster, willow bell, willow family, willow oak, willow tree, wisconsin weeping willow