willow

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs in the genus Salix, in the willow family Salicaceae, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the northern hemisphere.

   […] and through the middle of this forest, from wall to wall, ran a winding line of brilliant green which marked the course of cottonwoods and willows.

2. 2
   verb

   To form a shape or move in a way similar to the long, slender branches of a willow.

   Willowing over the rough cobbles of the little pier stepped a thin, bent figure, adorned with a silver nanny-goat's beard and bobbling eyes interrupted by the rim of a pair of pince-nez.

3. 3
   noun

   a textile machine having a system of revolving spikes for opening and cleaning raw textile fibers

4. 4
   noun

   any of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix

From Middle English wilwe, welew, variant of wilghe, from Old English welig, from Proto-West Germanic *wilig, from Proto-Germanic *wiligaz, from Proto-Indo-European *welik- (compare (Arcadian) Ancient Greek ἑλίκη (helíkē), Hittite 𒌑𒂖𒆪 (welku, “grass”)), from *wel- (“twist, turn”).

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