prune

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to trim a plant by cutting branches, or a dried plum

   He paused to prune the dead branches from the apple tree.

In the sense 'to trim', from Old French proignier ('to cut back, prune'), of uncertain origin, perhaps from a Vulgar Latin *prorotundiare ('to round off in front'). The fruit sense is unrelated, from Latin prunum ('plum'), from Ancient Greek prou(m)non.

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