juniper

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus Juniperus, with needlelike or scalelike leaves and aromatic berrylike cones

   A creeping juniper spread across the rocky ground below the pines.

2. 2
   noun

   gin, named for the juniper berries used to flavor it

   The old innkeeper offered his guest a small glass of juniper.

From Middle English juniper, ultimately from Latin iuniperus, the name of the evergreen shrub. The alcoholic sense arose by metonymy because juniper berries provide gin's characteristic flavor.

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