yew
yew Lexical Profile
yew Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Any of various slow-growing, long-lived evergreen coniferous trees or shrubs of the genus Taxus (family Taxaceae), native primarily to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and characterized by dark green flattened needles, scaly reddish bark, and toxic seeds enclosed in bright red fleshy cups.
"An ancient yew has stood beside the stone parish church for over eight hundred years."
The hard, fine-grained, and highly elastic wood of a yew tree, prized in furniture making, turnery, and historically for crafting medieval longbows.
"The master craftsman selected a seasoned stave of yew for its exceptional strength and flexibility."
The small, sweet, gelatinous red berry-like seed cup (aril) produced by the yew tree, which is the only non-toxic, edible part of the plant when the poisonous inner seed is removed.
"Thrush and waxwing flocks gather in late autumn to feed on the bright red yew berries."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse with the homophones 'you' (the second-person pronoun) or 'ewe' (a female sheep). Although the fleshy red cup surrounding the yew seed is sweet and edible, the seed inside and all other parts of the tree are highly toxic.
• Rhymes for yew
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'iw' or 'eow', descending from Proto-Germanic '*iwaz', which is ultimately of Proto-Indo-European origin and cognate with words referring to reddish wood or berries.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.