yew

¹

[ yoo ]

noun

1. any of several evergreen, coniferous trees and shrubs of the genera Taxus and Torreya, constituting the family Taxaceae, of the Old World, North America, and Japan, having needlelike or scalelike foliage and seeds enclosed in a fleshy aril.
2. the fine-grained, elastic wood of any of these trees.
3. an archer's bow made of this wood.
4. this tree or its branches as a symbol of sorrow, death, or resurrection.

yew

²

[ yoo; unstressed yoo ]

pronoun

, Eye Dialect.

1. you.

yew

/ juː /

noun

1. any coniferous tree of the genus Taxus, of the Old World and North America, esp T. baccata, having flattened needle-like leaves, fine-grained elastic wood, and solitary seeds with a red waxy aril resembling berries: family Taxaceae
2. the wood of any of these trees, used to make bows for archery
3. archery a bow made of yew

Word History and Origins

Origin of yew¹

before 900; Middle English ew ( e ), Old English ēow, ī ( o ) w; cognate with Old High German īga, īwa ( Middle High German īwe, German Eibe ), Old Norse ýr, MIr eó yew ( Old Irish: stem, shaft), Welsh ywen yew tree, Russian íva willow

Word History and Origins

Origin of yew¹

Old English īw; related to Old High German īwa, Old Norse ӯr yew, Latin ūva grape, Russian iva willow

Example Sentences

The needles of the yew tree can kill you, but the bark is important for many modern drugs.

From The Daily Beast

The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come by John Fox Jr.

From The Daily Beast

The church is picturesquely situated on the hillside, with an avenue of fine yew trees leading from the gate to the door.

From Project Gutenberg

He pointed with his finger and from behind the old yew arbour came the shrill clamour of a little dog in agony.

From Project Gutenberg

There were plenty of retired nooks under the shade of the yew-trees in the churchyard, where one could write.

From Project Gutenberg

The conversation generally turned upon his old “missus,” who was buried under a yew tree, near the wicket gate.

From Project Gutenberg

He must have slipped behind a ragged old yew which had once been clipped and trimmed to look like a chess-king.

From Project Gutenberg