hornbeam

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a deciduous tree or shrub of the genus Carpinus, noted for smooth bark and very hard wood

   A mature hornbeam shaded the stream with its dense ridged branches.

2. 2
   noun

   the hard pale wood of a hornbeam tree

   The toolmaker chose hornbeam for handles that had to withstand repeated blows.

From horn, referring to the wood's hornlike hardness, and Old English beam, 'tree.' The name therefore means a tree with exceptionally hard wood rather than a tree shaped like a horn.

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