Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A tall branching yucca plant (Yucca brevifolia) of the southwest United States, having large clusters of greenish-white flowers.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A small tree, Yucca brevifolia, found in some elevated desert regions of the western United States.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
yucca , Yucca brevifolia, of the southwestern U.S. with spiky leaves.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a large branched arborescent yucca of southwestern United States having short leaves and clustered greenish white flowers
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Probably after Joshua, from the resemblance of the tree's greatly extended branches to Joshua's outstretched arm as he pointed with his spear to the city of Ai (Joshua 8:18).]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Apparently from the resemblance of the tree to Joshua holding out his spear (Joshua 8:18: ‘And the LORD said unto Joshua, stretch out the spear that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thine hand. And Joshua stretched out the spear that he had in his hand toward the city.’ KJV).
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Examples
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