spruce

¹

[ sproos ]

noun

1. any evergreen, coniferous tree of the genus Picea, of the pine family, having short, angular, needle-shaped leaves attached singly around twigs and bearing hanging cones with persistent scales.
2. any of various allied trees, as the Douglas fir and the hemlock spruce.
3. the wood of any such tree.

adjective

1. made from the wood of a spruce tree or trees.
2. containing or abounding in spruce trees.

spruce

²

[ sproos ]

adjective

, spruc·er, spruc·est.

1. trim in dress or appearance; neat; smart; dapper.

verb (used with object)

, spruced, spruc·ing.

1. to make spruce or smart (often followed by up ):

   Spruce up the children before the company comes.

verb (used without object)

, spruced, spruc·ing.

1. to make oneself spruce (usually followed by up ).

spruce

¹

/ spruːs /

noun

1. any coniferous tree of the N temperate genus Picea, cultivated for timber and for ornament: family Pinaceae. They grow in a pyramidal shape and have needle-like leaves and light-coloured wood See also Norway spruce blue spruce white spruce black spruce
2. the wood of any of these trees

spruce

²

/ spruːs /

adjective

1. neat, smart, and trim

Derived Forms

• ˈspruceness, noun
• ˈsprucely, adverb

Other Words From

• spruce·ly adverb
• spruce·ness noun
• un·spruced adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spruce¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, special use of Spruce, Sprus(e), variant of Pruce, Prus(se), from Old French Prusse, Pruisse, from Medieval Latin Prussia Prussia, source of the timber

Origin of spruce²

First recorded in 1580–90; obsolete spruce jerkin originally, jerkin made of spruce leather, i.e., leather imported from Prussia ( spruce ¹ ), hence fine, smart, etc.

Word History and Origins

Origin of spruce¹

C17: short for Spruce fir, from C14 Spruce Prussia, changed from Pruce, via Old French from Latin Prussia

Origin of spruce²

C16: perhaps from Spruce leather a fashionable leather imported from Prussia; see spruce ¹

Example Sentences

The band Skipinnish, which had played at the event, knew of the tree and led the conservationists to where it was hidden in a non-native Sitka spruce plantation on Achnacarry Estate.

From BBC

The inscription on her headstone had become so illegible that, prompted by a local campaign, masonry restorers were brought in to spruce it up.

From BBC

The extreme weather has also forced the closure of mines in Spruce Pine, a small town that is home to the world’s largest-known source of high-purity quartz.

From BBC

The extreme weather has also forced the closure of quartz mines in Spruce Pine, a tiny town about an hour north-east of Asheville, home to the world’s largest-known source of high-purity quartz.

From BBC

“It does boggle the mind a bit to consider that inside nearly every cell phone and computer chip you’ll find quartz from Spruce Pine,” Rolf Pippert, mine manager at The Quartz Corp, a leading supplier of high-quality quartz, told the BBC in 2019.

From BBC