Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Willow?

\Wil"low\, n. [OE. wilowe, wilwe, AS. wilig, welig; akin to OD. wilge, D. wilg, LG. wilge. Cf. {Willy}.] 1. (Bot.) Any tree or shrub of the genus {Salix}, including many species, most of which are characterized often used as an emblem of sorrow, desolation, or desertion. ``A wreath of willow to show my forsaken plight.'' --Sir W. Scott. Hence, a lover forsaken by, or having lost, the person beloved, is said to wear the willow. And I must wear the willow garland For him that's dead or false to me. --Campbell. 2. (Textile Manuf.) A machine in which cotton or wool is opened and cleansed by the action of long spikes projecting from a drum which revolves within a box studded with similar spikes; -- probably so called from having been originally a cylindrical cage made of willow rods, though some derive the term from winnow, as denoting the winnowing, or cleansing, action of the machine. Called also {willy}, {twilly}, {twilly devil}, and {devil}. {Almond willow}, {Pussy willow}, {Weeping willow}. (Bot.) See under {Almond}, {Pussy}, and {Weeping}. {Willow biter} (Zo["o]l.) the blue tit. [Prov. Eng.] {Willow fly} (Zo["o]l.), a greenish European stone fly ({Chloroperla viridis}); -- called also {yellow Sally}. {Willow gall} (Zo["o]l.), a conical, scaly gall produced on willows by the larva of a small dipterous fly ({Cecidomyia strobiloides}). {Willow grouse} (Zo["o]l.), the white ptarmigan. See {ptarmigan}. {Willow lark} (Zo["o]l.), the sedge warbler. [Prov. Eng.] {Willow ptarmigan} (Zo["o]l.) (a) The European reed bunting, or black-headed bunting. See under {Reed}. (b) A sparrow ({Passer salicicolus}) native of Asia, Africa, and Southern Europe. {Willow tea}, the prepared leaves of a species of willow largely grown in the neighborhood of Shanghai, extensively used by the poorer classes of Chinese as a substitute for tea. --McElrath. {Willow thrush} (Zo["o]l.), a variety of the veery, or Wilson's thrush. See {Veery}. {Willow warbler} (Zo["o]l.), a very small European warbler ({Phylloscopus trochilus}); -- called also {bee bird}, {haybird}, {golden wren}, {pettychaps}, {sweet William}, {Tom Thumb}, and {willow wren}.
\Wil"low\, v. t. To open and cleanse, as cotton, flax, or wool, by means of a willow. See {Willow}, n., 2.