willow
English · Thesaurus
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willow¹
- /ˈwɪl.əʊ/ UK
- /ˈwɪloʊ/ US
Rhymes with -ɪləʊ, -ɪloʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English wilwe, welew, variant of wilghe, from Old English weliġ, 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”). Cognate to West Frisian wylch and more distantly (via Proto-West Germanic *wilgijā) to Dutch wilg and German Wilge.
noun willows
- 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.
- The wood of these trees.
- A cricket bat.
- The baseball bat.
- A rotating spiked drum used to open and clean cotton heads.
Similar: withy
verb willows · willowing · willowed
- To open and cleanse (cotton, flax, wool, etc.) by means of a willow.
- 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.
Willow²
Where it comes from
From willow.
proper noun
- A female given name from English of modern usage. Before he died her father had run a nursery just outside the town. He loved trees so much he'd even named his two daughters and one son after them: Willow, Ashley and Oak.
- A census-designated place in Alaska.
- A town in Oklahoma.
- A town in Wisconsin.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: willow tree, osier, foliage, sandbar, solar, photovoltaic, sun, saule, weeping, itea, sallow, withy, weeping willow, salix, swamp willow, basket willow
noun
Similar: withy
Translations
Every language
noun tree
| Español | sauce, mimbrera, sauz |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 버들 beodeul, 버드나무 beodeunamu |
| 日本語 | 柳 yanagi |
| 中文 | 柳 liǔ, 柳樹 /柳树 liǔshù |
| Kiswahili | mwerebi, mierebi |
| Português | salgueiro |
| Français | saule |
| Deutsch | Weide, Weidenbaum |
| Italiano | salice, salcio |
| Ελληνικά | ιτιά itiá |
| Română | salcie |
| Русский | и́ва íva, ве́рба vérba |
| Tiếng Việt | liễu |
| العربية | صَفْصَاف ṣafṣāf, غَرَب ḡarab, خِلَاف ḵilāf |
| עברית | עֲרָבָה ʿaravá |
Talk about this word "willow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/willow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. willow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/willow "willow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/willow.Cite this
@misc{willow_2026,
title = {willow},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/willow},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
