yew
yew Lexical Profile
yew Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A slow-growing coniferous tree or shrub of the genus Taxus, native to the Northern Hemisphere, characterized by dark green needle-like leaves, highly toxic bark and foliage, and distinctive red berry-like arils.
"The ancient stone churchyard was shaded by a massive yew that was believed to be over a thousand years old."
The heavy, fine-grained, and highly elastic wood of the yew tree, historically prized for crafting archery bows such as the English longbow.
"The medieval archer carefully strung his longbow, which had been expertly carved from seasoned yew."
• Rhymes for yew
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'īw' or 'ēow', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch 'ijf' and German 'Eibe', tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*eywa-'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.