Tree \Tree\ (tr[=e]), n. [OE. tree, tre, treo, AS. tre['o],
tre['o]w, tree, wood; akin to OFries. tr[=e], OS. treo, trio,
Icel. tr[=e], Dan. trae, Sw. tr[aum], tr[aum]d, Goth. triu,
Russ. drevo, W. derw an oak, Ir. darag, darog, Gr. dry^s a
tree, oak, do`ry a beam, spear shaft, spear, Skr. dru tree,
wood, d[=a]ru wood. [root]63, 241. Cf. Dryad, Germander,
Tar, n., Trough.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Bot.) Any perennial woody plant of considerable size
(usually over twenty feet high) and growing with a single
trunk.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The kind of tree referred to, in any particular case,
is often indicated by a modifying word; as forest tree,
fruit tree, palm tree, apple tree, pear tree, etc.
[1913 Webster]
2. Something constructed in the form of, or considered as
resembling, a tree, consisting of a stem, or stock, and
branches; as, a genealogical tree.
[1913 Webster]
3. A piece of timber, or something commonly made of timber;
-- used in composition, as in axletree, boottree,
chesstree, crosstree, whiffletree, and the like.
[1913 Webster]
4. A cross or gallows; as Tyburn tree.
[1913 Webster]
[Jesus] whom they slew and hanged on a tree. --Acts
x. 39.
[1913 Webster]
5. Wood; timber. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
In a great house ben not only vessels of gold and of
silver but also of tree and of earth. --Wyclif (2
Tim. ii. 20).
[1913 Webster]
6. (Chem.) A mass of crystals, aggregated in arborescent
forms, obtained by precipitation of a metal from solution.
See Lead tree, under Lead.
[1913 Webster]
Tree bear (Zool.), the raccoon. [Local, U. S.]
Tree beetle (Zool.) any one of numerous species of beetles
which feed on the leaves of trees and shrubs, as the May
beetles, the rose beetle, the rose chafer, and the
goldsmith beetle.
Tree bug (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
hemipterous insects which live upon, and suck the sap of,
trees and shrubs. They belong to Arma, Pentatoma,
Rhaphigaster, and allied genera.
Tree cat (Zool.), the common paradoxure (Paradoxurus
musang).
Tree clover (Bot.), a tall kind of melilot (Melilotus
alba). See Melilot.
Tree crab (Zool.), the purse crab. See under Purse.
Tree creeper (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
arboreal creepers belonging to Certhia, Climacteris,
and allied genera. See Creeper, 3.
Tree cricket (Zool.), a nearly white arboreal American
cricket (Ecanthus niv[oe]us) which is noted for its loud
stridulation; -- called also white cricket.
Tree crow (Zool.), any one of several species of Old World
crows belonging to Crypsirhina and allied genera,
intermediate between the true crows and the jays. The tail
is long, and the bill is curved and without a tooth.
Tree dove (Zool.) any one of several species of East Indian
and Asiatic doves belonging to Macropygia and allied
genera. They have long and broad tails, are chiefly
arboreal in their habits, and feed mainly on fruit.
Tree duck (Zool.), any one of several species of ducks
belonging to Dendrocygna and allied genera. These ducks
have a long and slender neck and a long hind toe. They are
arboreal in their habits, and are found in the tropical
parts of America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Tree fern (Bot.), an arborescent fern having a straight
trunk, sometimes twenty or twenty-five feet high, or even
higher, and bearing a cluster of fronds at the top. Most
of the existing species are tropical.
Tree fish (Zool.), a California market fish (Sebastichthys
serriceps).
Tree frog. (Zool.)
(a) Same as Tree toad.
(b) Any one of numerous species of Old World frogs
belonging to Chiromantis, Rhacophorus, and allied
genera of the family Ranidae. Their toes are
furnished with suckers for adhesion. The flying frog
(see under Flying) is an example.
Tree goose (Zool.), the bernicle goose.
Tree hopper (Zool.), any one of numerous species of small
leaping hemipterous insects which live chiefly on the
branches and twigs of trees, and injure them by sucking
the sap. Many of them are very odd in shape, the prothorax
being often prolonged upward or forward in the form of a
spine or crest.
Tree jobber (Zool.), a woodpecker. [Obs.]
Tree kangaroo. (Zool.) See Kangaroo.
Tree lark (Zool.), the tree pipit. [Prov. Eng.]
Tree lizard (Zool.), any one of a group of Old World
arboreal lizards (formerly grouped as the Dendrosauria)
comprising the chameleons; also applied to various lizards
belonging to the families Agamidae or Iguanidae,
especially those of the genus Urosaurus, such as the
lined tree lizard (Urosaurus ornatus) of the
southwestern U.S.
Tree lobster. (Zool.) Same as Tree crab, above.
Tree louse (Zool.), any aphid; a plant louse.
Tree moss. (Bot.)
(a) Any moss or lichen growing on trees.
(b) Any species of moss in the form of a miniature tree.
Tree mouse (Zool.), any one of several species of African
mice of the subfamily Dendromyinae. They have long claws
and habitually live in trees.
Tree nymph, a wood nymph. See Dryad.
Tree of a saddle, a saddle frame.
Tree of heaven (Bot.), an ornamental tree (Ailantus
glandulosus) having long, handsome pinnate leaves, and
greenish flowers of a disagreeable odor.
Tree of life (Bot.), a tree of the genus Thuja; arbor
vitae.
Tree onion (Bot.), a species of garlic (Allium
proliferum) which produces bulbs in place of flowers, or
among its flowers.
Tree oyster (Zool.), a small American oyster (Ostrea
folium) which adheres to the roots of the mangrove tree;
-- called also raccoon oyster.
Tree pie (Zool.), any species of Asiatic birds of the genus
Dendrocitta. The tree pies are allied to the magpie.
Tree pigeon (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
longwinged arboreal pigeons native of Asia, Africa, and
Australia, and belonging to Megaloprepia, Carpophaga,
and allied genera.
Tree pipit. (Zool.) See under Pipit.
Tree porcupine (Zool.), any one of several species of
Central and South American arboreal porcupines belonging
to the genera Chaetomys and Sphingurus. They have an
elongated and somewhat prehensile tail, only four toes on
the hind feet, and a body covered with short spines mixed
with bristles. One South American species (Sphingurus
villosus) is called also couiy; another (Sphingurus
prehensilis) is called also c[oe]ndou.
Tree rat (Zool.), any one of several species of large
ratlike West Indian rodents belonging to the genera
Capromys and Plagiodon. They are allied to the
porcupines.
Tree serpent (Zool.), a tree snake.
Tree shrike (Zool.), a bush shrike.
Tree snake (Zool.), any one of numerous species of snakes
of the genus Dendrophis. They live chiefly among the
branches of trees, and are not venomous.
Tree sorrel (Bot.), a kind of sorrel (Rumex Lunaria)
which attains the stature of a small tree, and bears
greenish flowers. It is found in the Canary Islands and
Tenerife.
Tree sparrow (Zool.) any one of several species of small
arboreal sparrows, especially the American tree sparrow
(Spizella monticola), and the common European species
(Passer montanus).
Tree swallow (Zool.), any one of several species of
swallows of the genus Hylochelidon which lay their eggs
in holes in dead trees. They inhabit Australia and
adjacent regions. Called also martin in Australia.
Tree swift (Zool.), any one of several species of swifts of
the genus Dendrochelidon which inhabit the East Indies
and Southern Asia.
Tree tiger (Zool.), a leopard.
Tree toad (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
amphibians belonging to Hyla and allied genera of the
family Hylidae. They are related to the common frogs and
toads, but have the tips of the toes expanded into suckers
by means of which they cling to the bark and leaves of
trees. Only one species (Hyla arborea) is found in
Europe, but numerous species occur in America and
Australia. The common tree toad of the Northern United
States (Hyla versicolor) is noted for the facility with
which it changes its colors. Called also tree frog. See
also Piping frog, under Piping, and Cricket frog,
under Cricket.
Tree warbler (Zool.), any one of several species of
arboreal warblers belonging to Phylloscopus and allied
genera.
Tree wool (Bot.), a fine fiber obtained from the leaves of
pine trees.
[1913 Webster]
|
White \White\ (hw[imac]t), a. [Compar. Whiter
(hw[imac]t"[~e]r); superl. Whitest.] [OE. whit, AS.
hw[imac]t; akin to OFries. and OS. hw[imac]t, D. wit, G.
weiss, OHG. w[imac]z, hw[imac]z, Icel. hv[imac]tr, Sw. hvit,
Dan. hvid, Goth. hweits, Lith. szveisti, to make bright,
Russ. sviet' light, Skr. [,c]v[=e]ta white, [,c]vit to be
bright. [root]42. Cf. Wheat, Whitsunday.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Reflecting to the eye all the rays of the spectrum
combined; not tinted with any of the proper colors or
their mixtures; having the color of pure snow; snowy; --
the opposite of black or dark; as, white paper; a
white skin. "Pearls white." --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
White as the whitest lily on a stream. --Longfellow.
[1913 Webster]
2. Destitute of color, as in the cheeks, or of the tinge of
blood color; pale; pallid; as, white with fear.
[1913 Webster]
Or whispering with white lips, "The foe!
They come! they come!" --Byron.
[1913 Webster]
3. Having the color of purity; free from spot or blemish, or
from guilt or pollution; innocent; pure.
[1913 Webster]
White as thy fame, and as thy honor clear. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
No whiter page than Addison's remains. --Pope.
[1913 Webster]
4. Gray, as from age; having silvery hair; hoary.
[1913 Webster]
Your high engendered battles 'gainst a head
So old and white as this. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
5. Characterized by freedom from that which disturbs, and the
like; fortunate; happy; favorable.
[1913 Webster]
On the whole, however, the dominie reckoned this as
one of the white days of his life. --Sir W.
Scott.
[1913 Webster]
6. Regarded with especial favor; favorite; darling.
[1913 Webster]
Come forth, my white spouse. --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
I am his white boy, and will not be gullet. --Ford.
[1913 Webster]
Note: White is used in many self-explaining compounds, as
white-backed, white-bearded, white-footed.
[1913 Webster]
White alder. (Bot.) See Sweet pepper bush, under
Pepper.
White ant (Zool.), any one of numerous species of social
pseudoneuropterous insects of the genus Termes. These
insects are very abundant in tropical countries, and form
large and complex communities consisting of numerous
asexual workers of one or more kinds, of large-headed
asexual individuals called soldiers, of one or more queens
(or fertile females) often having the body enormously
distended by the eggs, and, at certain seasons of numerous
winged males, together with the larvae and pupae of each
kind in various stages of development. Many of the species
construct large and complicated nests, sometimes in the
form of domelike structures rising several feet above the
ground and connected with extensive subterranean galleries
and chambers. In their social habits they closely resemble
the true ants. They feed upon animal and vegetable
substances of various kinds, including timber, and are
often very destructive to buildings and furniture.
White arsenic (Chem.), arsenious oxide, As2O3, a
substance of a white color, and vitreous adamantine
luster, having an astringent, sweetish taste. It is a
deadly poison.
White bass (Zool.), a fresh-water North American bass
(Roccus chrysops) found in the Great Likes.
White bear (Zool.), the polar bear. See under Polar.
White blood cell. (Physiol.) See Leucocyte.
White brand (Zool.), the snow goose.
White brass, a white alloy of copper; white copper.
White campion. (Bot.)
(a) A kind of catchfly (Silene stellata) with white
flowers.
(b) A white-flowered Lychnis (Lychnis vespertina).
White canon (R. C. Ch.), a Premonstratensian.
White caps, the members of a secret organization in various
of the United States, who attempt to drive away or reform
obnoxious persons by lynch-law methods. They appear masked
in white. Their actions resembled those of the Ku Klux
Klan in some ways but they were not formally affiliated
with the Klan, and their victims were often not black.
White cedar (Bot.), an evergreen tree of North America
(Thuja occidentalis), also the related Cupressus
thyoides, or Chamaecyparis sphaeroidea, a slender
evergreen conifer which grows in the so-called cedar
swamps of the Northern and Atlantic States. Both are much
valued for their durable timber. In California the name is
given to the Libocedrus decurrens, the timber of which
is also useful, though often subject to dry rot.
--Goodale. The white cedar of Demerara, Guiana, etc., is a
lofty tree (Icica altissima syn. Bursera altissima)
whose fragrant wood is used for canoes and cabinetwork, as
it is not attacked by insect.
White cell. (Physiol.) See Leucocyte.
White cell-blood (Med.), leucocythaemia.
White clover (Bot.), a species of small perennial clover
bearing white flowers. It furnishes excellent food for
cattle and horses, as well as for the honeybee. See also
under Clover.
White copper, a whitish alloy of copper. See German
silver, under German.
White copperas (Min.), a native hydrous sulphate of iron;
coquimbite.
White coral (Zool.), an ornamental branched coral
(Amphihelia oculata) native of the Mediterranean.
White corpuscle. (Physiol.) See Leucocyte.
White cricket (Zool.), the tree cricket.
White crop, a crop of grain which loses its green color, or
becomes white, in ripening, as wheat, rye, barley, and
oats, as distinguished from a green crop, or a root crop.
White currant (Bot.), a variety of the common red currant,
having white berries.
White daisy (Bot.), the oxeye daisy. See under Daisy.
White damp, a kind of poisonous gas encountered in coal
mines. --Raymond.
White elephant (Zool.),
(a) a whitish, or albino, variety of the Asiatic elephant.
(b) see white elephant in the vocabulary.
White elm (Bot.), a majestic tree of North America (Ulmus
Americana), the timber of which is much used for hubs of
wheels, and for other purposes.
White ensign. See Saint George's ensign, under Saint.
White feather, a mark or symbol of cowardice. See To show
the white feather, under Feather, n.
White fir (Bot.), a name given to several coniferous trees
of the Pacific States, as Abies grandis, and Abies
concolor.
White flesher (Zool.), the ruffed grouse. See under
Ruffed. [Canada]
White frost. See Hoarfrost.
White game (Zool.), the white ptarmigan.
White garnet (Min.), leucite.
White grass (Bot.), an American grass (Leersia Virginica)
with greenish-white paleae.
White grouse. (Zool.)
(a) The white ptarmigan.
(b) The prairie chicken. [Local, U. S.]
White grub (Zool.), the larva of the June bug and other
allied species. These grubs eat the roots of grasses and
other plants, and often do much damage.
White hake (Zool.), the squirrel hake. See under
Squirrel.
White hawk, or White kite (Zool.), the hen harrier.
White heat, the temperature at which bodies become
incandescent, and appear white from the bright light which
they emit.
White hellebore (Bot.), a plant of the genus Veratrum
(Veratrum album) See Hellebore, 2.
White herring, a fresh, or unsmoked, herring, as
distinguished from a red, or cured, herring. [R.] --Shak.
White hoolet (Zool.), the barn owl. [Prov. Eng.]
White horses (Naut.), white-topped waves; whitecaps.
The White House. See under House.
White ibis (Zool.), an American ibis (Guara alba) having
the plumage pure white, except the tips of the wings,
which are black. It inhabits tropical America and the
Southern United States. Called also Spanish curlew.
White iron.
(a) Thin sheets of iron coated with tin; tinned iron.
(b) A hard, silvery-white cast iron containing a large
proportion of combined carbon.
White iron pyrites (Min.), marcasite.
White land, a tough clayey soil, of a whitish hue when dry,
but blackish after rain. [Eng.]
White lark (Zool.), the snow bunting.
White lead.
(a) A carbonate of lead much used in painting, and for
other purposes; ceruse.
(b) (Min.) Native lead carbonate; cerusite.
White leather, buff leather; leather tanned with alum and
salt.
White leg (Med.), milk leg. See under Milk.
White lettuce (Bot.), rattlesnake root. See under
Rattlesnake.
White lie. See under Lie.
White light.
(a) (Physics) Light having the different colors in the
same proportion as in the light coming directly from
the sun, without having been decomposed, as by passing
through a prism. See the Note under Color, n., 1.
(b) A kind of firework which gives a brilliant white
illumination for signals, etc.
White lime, a solution or preparation of lime for
whitewashing; whitewash.
White line (Print.), a void space of the breadth of a line,
on a printed page; a blank line.
White meat.
(a) Any light-colored flesh, especially of poultry.
(b) Food made from milk or eggs, as butter, cheese, etc.
[1913 Webster]
Driving their cattle continually with them, and
feeding only upon their milk and white meats.
--Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
White merganser (Zool.), the smew.
White metal.
(a) Any one of several white alloys, as pewter, britannia,
etc.
(b) (Metal.) A fine grade of copper sulphide obtained at a
certain stage in copper smelting.
White miller. (Zool.)
(a) The common clothes moth.
(b) A common American bombycid moth (Spilosoma
Virginica) which is pure white with a few small black
spots; -- called also ermine moth, and virgin
moth. See Woolly bear, under Woolly.
White money, silver money.
White mouse (Zool.), the albino variety of the common
mouse.
White mullet (Zool.), a silvery mullet (Mugil curema)
ranging from the coast of the United States to Brazil; --
called also blue-back mullet, and liza.
White nun (Zool.), the smew; -- so called from the white
crest and the band of black feathers on the back of its
head, which give the appearance of a hood.
White oak. (Bot.) See under Oak.
White owl. (Zool.)
(a) The snowy owl.
(b) The barn owl.
White partridge (Zool.), the white ptarmigan.
White perch. (Zool.)
(a) A North American fresh-water bass (Morone Americana)
valued as a food fish.
(b) The croaker, or fresh-water drum.
(c) Any California surf fish.
White pine. (Bot.) See the Note under Pine.
White poplar (Bot.), a European tree (Populus alba) often
cultivated as a shade tree in America; abele.
White poppy (Bot.), the opium-yielding poppy. See Poppy.
White powder, a kind of gunpowder formerly believed to
exist, and to have the power of exploding without noise.
[Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
A pistol charged with white powder. --Beau. & Fl.
[1913 Webster]
White precipitate. (Old Chem.) See under Precipitate.
White rabbit. (Zool.)
(a) The American northern hare in its winter pelage.
(b) An albino rabbit.
White rent,
(a) (Eng. Law) Formerly, rent payable in silver; --
opposed to black rent. See Blackmail, n., 3.
(b) A rent, or duty, of eight pence, payable yearly by
every tinner in Devon and Cornwall to the Duke of
Cornwall, as lord of the soil. [Prov. Eng.]
White rhinoceros. (Zool.)
(a) The one-horned, or Indian, rhinoceros (Rhinoceros
Indicus). See Rhinoceros.
(b) The umhofo.
White ribbon, the distinctive badge of certain
organizations for the promotion of temperance or of moral
purity; as, the White-ribbon Army.
White rope (Naut.), untarred hemp rope.
White rot. (Bot.)
(a) Either of several plants, as marsh pennywort and
butterwort, which were thought to produce the disease
called rot in sheep.
(b) A disease of grapes. See White rot, under Rot.
White sage (Bot.), a white, woolly undershrub (Eurotia
lanata) of Western North America; -- called also winter
fat.
White salmon (Zool.), the silver salmon.
White salt, salt dried and calcined; decrepitated salt.
White scale (Zool.), a scale insect (Aspidiotus Nerii)
injurious to the orange tree. See Orange scale, under
Orange.
White shark (Zool.), a species of man-eating shark. See
under Shark.
White softening. (Med.) See Softening of the brain, under
Softening.
White spruce. (Bot.) See Spruce, n., 1.
White squall (Naut.), a sudden gust of wind, or furious
blow, which comes up without being marked in its approach
otherwise than by whitecaps, or white, broken water, on
the surface of the sea.
White staff, the badge of the lord high treasurer of
England. --Macaulay.
White stork (Zool.), the common European stork.
White sturgeon. (Zool.) See Shovelnose
(d) .
White sucker. (Zool.)
(a) The common sucker.
(b) The common red horse (Moxostoma macrolepidotum).
White swelling (Med.), a chronic swelling of the knee,
produced by a strumous inflammation of the synovial
membranes of the kneejoint and of the cancellar texture of
the end of the bone forming the kneejoint; -- applied also
to a lingering chronic swelling of almost any kind.
White tombac. See Tombac.
White trout (Zool.), the white weakfish, or silver
squeteague (Cynoscion nothus), of the Southern United
States.
White vitriol (Chem.), hydrous sulphate of zinc. See White
vitriol, under Vitriol.
White wagtail (Zool.), the common, or pied, wagtail.
White wax, beeswax rendered white by bleaching.
White whale (Zool.), the beluga.
White widgeon (Zool.), the smew.
White wine. any wine of a clear, transparent color,
bordering on white, as Madeira, sherry, Lisbon, etc.; --
distinguished from wines of a deep red color, as port and
Burgundy. "White wine of Lepe." --Chaucer.
White witch, a witch or wizard whose supernatural powers
are supposed to be exercised for good and beneficent
purposes. --Addison. --Cotton Mather.
White wolf. (Zool.)
(a) A light-colored wolf (Canis laniger) native of
Thibet; -- called also chanco, golden wolf, and
Thibetan wolf.
(b) The albino variety of the gray wolf.
White wren (Zool.), the willow warbler; -- so called from
the color of the under parts.
[1913 Webster]
[1913 Webster]
|