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  1. arbutus love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Any of various broad-leaved evergreen trees or shrubs of the genus Arbutus, including the madroña and strawberry tree, that are native chiefly to warm regions in the Americas and Europe.
  2. n. The trailing arbutus.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A plant of the genus Arbutus.
  2. n. The trailing arbutus (see below).
  3. n. [capitalized] A genus of evergreen shrubs or small trees of southern Europe and western North America, natural order Ericaceœ, characterized by a free calyx and a many-seeded berry. The European A. Unedo is called the strawberry-tree from its bright-scarlet berries, and is cultivated for ornament. A. Menziesii is the picturesque and striking madroño-tree of Oregon and California, sometimes reaching a height of 80 feet or more.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Flowering plants in the genus Arbutus, the strawberry tree.
  2. n. Epigaea repens, the mayflower, the trailing arbutus.
  3. n. arbute; the wood of the strawberry tree.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. The strawberry tree, a genus of evergreen shrubs, of the Heath family. It has a berry externally resembling the strawberry; the arbute tree.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. any of several evergreen shrubs of the genus Arbutus of temperate Europe and America

Etymologies

  1. From New Latin Arbutus (genus name), from Latin arbutus. (Wiktionary)
  2. Latin arbutus, arbutus. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “The arbutus is particularly fond of pine-woods and light sandy soil'" Frontispiece”

    Flower Stories

  • “They tell me that the arbutus is particularly fond of pine-woods and light sandy soil.”

    Flower Stories

  • “The arbutus is now open everywhere in the woods and groves.”

    Rural Hours

  • “Priscilla, or some other winsome and good maiden of the early colonial days, who transplanted to New England this poetic practice, sweet as the fragrant pink and white blossoms of the trailing arbutus, which is especially used to commemorate it.”

    Apples, Ripe and Rosy, Sir

  • “I have heard her regret that the most delicious of all the growths of spring, the ground-sweet, which I think they now call arbutus, would not prosper out of its forest shelter.”

    Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker

  • “It, too, is a kind of arbutus, but of great rarity, and found nowhere else except in Italy and Ireland.”

    Manasseh A Romance of Transylvania

  • “* References: Massif des Maures = local mountain range; "La Voisine" means "neighbor" -- meet mine via her knitting blog; une ruelle (f) = narrow street; une arbouse (f) = arbutus-berry [from the wild strawberry tree]”

    Escapade

  • “If the latest edition of this ‘exhaustive’ dictionary still defines it as ‘arbutus – trailing arbutus, try the RH book company’s dictionary or another helpful one.”

    The Merriam-Webster English Dictionary « Books « Literacy News

  • “M-W once again wasted my time (arbutus – trailing arbutus).”

    The Merriam-Webster English Dictionary « Books « Literacy News

  • “My latest dismal attempt was with the word ‘arbutus’.”

    The Merriam-Webster English Dictionary « Books « Literacy News

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equivalents (1)

Other words for ‘arbutus’

  1. arbute

hypernyms (2)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. shrub
  1. bush

hyponyms (7)

Words that are more specific

  1. strawberry tree
  1. madrono
  1. arbutus unedo
  1. arbutus menziesii
  1. irish strawberry
  1. madrona
  1. manzanita

same context (22)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. myrtle
  2. ilex
  3. magnolia
  4. gardenia
  1. privet
  2. hyacinth
  3. dogwood
  4. juniper
  1. hawthorn
  2. jessamine
  3. oleander
  4. rhododendron
  1. tamarisk
  2. mimosa
  3. gorse
  4. cypress
  1. mistletoe
  2. camellia
  3. wisteria
  4. azalea
  1. sumac
  2. manzanita

reverse dictionary (17)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. madrona
  2. strawberry tree
  3. mayflower
  1. ground laurel
  2. arbute
  3. epigæa
  1. ground-laurel
  2. shad-flower
  3. Antanas
  1. gravel-plant
  2. arbutus
  3. epigaea
  1. genus epigaea
  2. trailing arbutus
  3. arctostaphylos
  1. madroño
  2. suffrutex

tags (3)

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  1. plant
  1. mouthfeel
  1. red

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Lists

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Comments

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  • bilby
    Ah, how I pity the young dead who gave
    All that they were, and might become, that we
    With tired eyes should watch this perfect sea
    Re-weave its patterning of silver wave
    Round scented cliffs of arbutus and bay.
    - Edith Wharton, 'The Young Dead'. Sep 21, 2009

  • reesetee It is fun to say, though. Arbutus. Arbutus. Arbutus. Mar 19, 2008

  • yarb We have arbutus in my area. They are extremely picky and will only grow where there is exactly the right combination of sun / rain / proximity to the seashore, i.e. they are an evolutionary flop, and consequently quite charming with their soft peeling bark and deferential posture. Mar 19, 2008

  • sionnach See also arbutus Mar 19, 2008

  • chained_bear usage on micaceous Mar 18, 2008

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‘arbutus’ has been looked up 1875 times, loved by 1 person, added to 15 lists, commented on 5 times, and has a Scrabble score of 9.