madrone

[ muh-droh-nuh ]

noun

1. any of several evergreen trees belonging to the genus Arbutus, of the heath family, especially A. menziesii Pacific madrone of western North America, having red, flaky bark and bearing edible reddish berries.
2. the pale reddish-brown wood of this tree.

Word History and Origins

Origin of madrone¹

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; from Latin American Spanish (Panama, Colombia), Spanish madroño “strawberry tree,” Mozarabic maṭroño; further origin uncertain

Example Sentences

They draw the more terrestrially inclined, too, such as Shaun Salamida and his wife, Amy, who moved to San Juan Island and started Madrone Cellars & Cider.

From Washington Post

Gaunt pines clothed its rocky slope, intermingled with clumps of chaparral and the glossy-leaved madrone bushes.

From Project Gutenberg

In front was a precipitous cliff studded with dwarf madrone trees and the twisted manzanita.

From Project Gutenberg

The madrone, richly leaved like the laurel, reflects the sunlight from a bole glistening as though freshly carved from wet gold.

From Project Gutenberg

She had said that "Anne wath mad wiv her, and that Alix--" she managed to lisp the name, "wath up in the madrone!"

From Project Gutenberg

The wood of the madrone is hard and close-grained, of a light brown, shaded with red, with lighter-colored sap-wood.

From Project Gutenberg