Forms: see below. [OE. tréow, tríow, OE., ME. tréo, etc. = OFris. trê (NFris. trê, træ), OS. trio, treo, trew- (MDu. in comb. -tere, -tære, Kilian); ON. tré (Da. træ, Sw. trā timber, träd tree); Goth. triu, gen. triw-is wood (wanting in OHG. and now also obsolete in LG. and Du.):—OTeut. *trewo-, cognate with Skr. dru tree, wood, dā·ru wood, log, and with Gr. δρῦς oak, δόρυ spear; OSlav. drievo (from dervo) tree, wood, drŭva pl. wood, Russ. de·revo, drevo· tree, wood, Serv. drvo tree, drva wood, Czech drva, Pol. drwa wood; Lith. dervà pine-wood; also with OIr. daur, Welsh derwen oak. The modern Eng. tree is a regular repr. of OE. tréo, ME. treo; trē is the form in the Bestiary of c. 1220; but the final prevalence of this over the other ME. forms treow, treu, trow, trau, was prob. assisted by its coincidence with Norse tré; trē, tree are the northern forms from Cursor Mundi onward. For form-history cf. KNEE.]
A. Illustration of Forms and Inflexions.
1. Sing. nom. 1 triow, (late) tryw, 1–2 treow, treu, (1) 3 trew, (1)–4 treo, 3–6 tre, 3– tree; 4 (Kent. trau, tra(u)w); trough; 5 Sc. trey, 6–7 trie. dat. 1 treowe, tréo, 2 treuwe, trewe, 4 trow(e, trauwe. [The development of OE. nom. acc. sing. was OTeut. *trewom, trewa, trew, tréu, tréo, then with w from oblique cases (trewes, treowes, etc.), tréow, (triow).]
c. 890. trans. Bæda’s Hist., II. xi. [xiv.] (1890), 138. He … of treo [v.r. treowe] cirican ʓetimbrode.
c. 897. K. Ælfred, Gregory’s Past. C., xlv. 338. Ælc triow [v.r. treow] man sceal ceorfan.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., Matt. iii. 10. Ælc treow [MS. B. tryw, Lind. treu] þe godne wæstm ne bringð.
c. 1200. Vices & Virtues, 27. Ðe treu of paradise.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 107. Of coren of eorðe, and of treuwe.
c. 1220. Bestiary, 674. Ðus fel adam ðurȝ a tre, Vre firste fader, ðat fele we.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 3301. A funden trew ðor-inne dede Moyses.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 657 (Cott.). Þis tree ys done in my friþe.
1340. Ayenb., 28. Ne in gerse, ne in busse, ne in trauwe. Ibid., 95. Þet trau of lyue. Ibid., 202. Þys traw wext and profiteþ.
13[?]. K. Alis., 6829. Alle tho That scholde with him to the trough go.
1393. Langl., P. Pl., C. XXI. 200. Yf þei touchede þe treo and of þe frut eten.
c. 1530. R. Hilles, Common-Pl. Bk. (1858), 140. Sone crokyth the tre that crokyed wyll be.
1535. Stewart, Cron. Scot. (Rolls), II. 687. With the speir that wes of suir trie, He hit the king richt in at the e.
1573. Tusser, Husb. (1878), 109. Let Iuie be killed, Else trée will be spilled.
a. 1584. Montgomerie, Cherrie & Slae, 341. The trie sa hich of growth.
2. Pl. nom. α. 1 trēo, treow, triowu, treowu, -a, 1–2 treowe; 2 trowen, 2–4 treon, 3–6 trên, 4 (troen), trene, 4–7 (–9 dial.) treen, 5 trenne, 5–6 treene. β. 2 treos, 2–3 (Orm.) trewwes, 2, 4 trewes, 2–5 tres, 3 troues, 3–4 trouwes, 3–5 treus, 4 trews, trowes, traues, trawes, 4–6 treis, 5 trese, 6 treys, Sc. treyis, 6–7 tries, 4– trees. [The development of OE. nom. acc. pl. was WGer. trewu, tréu, tréo; then again with w (from oblique cases), tréow, treowu (-a). The pl. tréo occurs in Vesp. Ps. and Lind. Gosp.]
c. 825. Vesp. Ps., cxlviii. 9. Treo westemberu and alle ceder-beamas.
c. 890. trans. Bæda’s Hist., I. (1890), 26. Hit is weliʓ þis ealond on wæstmum & on treowum.
c. 897. K. Ælfred, Gregory’s Past. C., xl. 292. Sumu treowu he watrade.
a. 1000. Epist. Alex. ad Aristot., in Cockayne, Narrat., 27. Eac þær wæron oþre treow. Ibid., 28. Ða halʓan triow-swiðe wepen.
c. 1000. Ælfric, Hom., II. 588. Deorwurðe stanas, oþþe treowa.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 5. Heo stiȝen uppe on þe godes cunnes treowe. Ibid., 41. He him sceawede heȝe treon.
c. 1200. Ormin, Introd. 13. Full gode treos inoȝhe. Ibid., 15468. Off gresess, & off tres.
c. 1200. Trin. Coll. Hom., 25. Gres and trowen. Ibid., 37. Hwile uppen trewes.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 3305. Then [i.e., ten] and sexti palme tren.
c. 1275. Lay., 511. Alle hi solde hongie vppe heȝe troues.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 545 (Cott.). It groues tres [Fairf. trees] and gress. Ibid. (13[?]), 651 (Gött.). Of treis … here es gode wone.
a. 1300[?]. XI Pains of Hell, 33. Þer beoþ bernynde treon.
a. 1325. MS. Rawl. B. 520, lf. 32 b. Þis statut ne portenez noȝt to grete hokes ne to oþere grete troen.
a. 1325. Prose Psalter, xcv[i]. 12. Þan shul alle þe trews of þe wodes gladen.
13[?]. K. Alis., 6763. Þou shalt fynde trowes two.
1340. Ayenb., 25. Þe greatte traues. Ibid., 95. Uol of guode trawes.
1387. Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), III. 445. Where þou knowe nouȝt þe treen [v.r. tren].
a. 1400. Pistill of Susan, 90. Turtils troned on trene.
c. 1400. Trees [see B. 1].
c. 1400. Ywaine & Gaw., 2965. He loked in bitwix the trese.
1422. trans. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv., 239. With lewys of trenne. Ibid., 243. The humours of tren and herbis.
c. 1430. Lydg., Min. Poems (Percy Soc.), 17. Twoo grene treene there grewe uprighte.
a. 1450. Myrc, Festial, i. 3. Treus and herbys.
1562–3. in Willis & Clark, Cambridge (1886), II. 568. x greate tries at xxviijs the trie.
1563. Mirr. Mag., Induct. 2. With blustring blastes had al ybared the treen.
1565. Satir. Poems Reform., i. 45. Wynter windes … that doth I-bayre the tren. Ibid. (1570), xv. 50. All greinis and plesand treis [rhyme eyis].
1596. Dalrymple, trans. Leslie’s Hist. Scot., VII. (S.T.S.), II. 17. Aple tries, and orchardis.
1600. Fairfax, Tasso, III. lxxv. The shadie tops of shaking treene.
1635, 1771, 1861. Trees [see B. 1].
1843. E. Jones, Poems, Sens. & Event, 38. Vast interbranching treen.
B. Signification.
1. A perennial plant having a self-supporting woody main stem or trunk (which usually develops woody branches at some distance from the ground), and growing to a considerable height and size. (Usually distinguished from a bush or shrub by size and manner of growth; but cf. b.)
c. 825, c. 890, c. 897. [see A. 2].
c. 1000. Ælfric, Gen. iii. 6. Þæt treow wæs god to etanne.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 109. Iliche þan treo þe bereð lef and blosman.
c. 1290. St. Brendan, 41, in S. Eng. Leg., I. 221. Of treon and herbes, þikke i-novȝ.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. XV. 327. A forest … ful of faire trees.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVII. i. (Tollem. MS.). A tre haþ … þe rynde, bowes, twigges, leues, blosmes, floures and frute.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 12467. Trees thurgh tempestes tynde hade þere leues.
1481. Caxton, Reynard, xii. (Arb.), 28. He brake a rodde of a tree.
c. 1530. R. Hilles, Common-Pl. Bk. (1858), 140. Hyt ys a febyll tre thet fallyth at the fyrst strok.
1600. Fairfax, Tasso, VII. i. Through forrests thicke among the shadie treene.
1635. Laud, Diary, 1 Dec. Many elm leaves yet upon the trees.
1771. Junius Lett., lvii. (1820), 298. He or his deputy were authorised to cut down … trees.
1861. Bentley, Man. Bot., 540. Cunoniaceæ…. Nearly allied to Saxifragaceæ, but differing from them in being trees or shrubs.
b. Extended to include bushes or shrubs of erect growth and having a single stem; and even some perennial herbaceous plants which grow to a great height, as the banana and plantain.
c. 1340–. [see ROSE-TREE].
c. 1532. [see GOOSEBERRY 7].
1640. [see PLANTAIN3 4].
1649. [see CURRANT 4].
1697. [see BANANA 1].
1765. [see RASPBERRY 4].
1855. Browning, Women & Roses, i. I dream of a red-rose tree.
1858. Hogg, Veg. Kingd., 790. As a food, the Plantain is wholesome and agreeable. A tree generally contains three or four clusters.
c. Applied fig. or allusively to a person.
1594. Shaks., Rich. III., III. vii. 167. The Royall Tree hath left vs Royall Fruit.
1807. Wordsw., Force of Prayer, xiii. He was a tree that stood alone, And proudly did its branches wave.
2. The substance of the trunk and boughs of a tree; wood (esp. as a material of which things are made); timber. Obs. or arch.
To go between the bark and the tree: see BARK sb.1 6.
c. 890. trans. Bæda’s Hist., II. xi. [xiv.] (1890), 138. He þær hræde ʓeweorce of treo cirican ʓetimbrode.
c. 1122. O. E. Chron., an. 626 (Laud MS.). Þær he ær het ʓetimbrian cyrican of treowe.
c. 1290. S. Eng. Leg., I. 91/154. In one cheste of treo.
c. 1366[?]. in Arnolde, Chron. (1811), 138. Affixed wt nayles of irne or of tree.
c. 1440. Partonope, 407. A brygge of stone and not of tree.
c. 1500. Whole Prophecie of Scotland, 1603 (in Murray, Thomas of Erceldoune, Introd. p. xxxv). At Aberladie he shall light With hempen halters and hors of tree.
1531. Elyot, Gov., III. xvii. Eatyng his meate in a disshe of tree.
1638. Junius, Paint. Ancients, 124. A horse made of maple tree.
1896. Kipling, Seven Seas, Sea-Wife, iv. To ride the horse of tree [a ship].
3. A piece of wood; a stem or branch of a tree, or a portion of one, either in its natural state, or more usually (now always) shaped for some purpose. a. A pole, post, stake, beam, wooden bar, etc.; esp. (now only) one forming part of some structure, as a vehicle, plow, ship, etc.; usually as the second element in combinations, as AXLE-TREE, CHESS-TREE, CROSS-TREE, DOOR-TREE, DRAUGHT-TREE, ROOF-TREE, SWINGLE-TREE, etc.
971. Blickl. Hom., 187. Ond þa æfter þon het Neron ʓewyrcean mycelne tor of treowum & of mycclum beamum.
c. 1200. Ormin, 15835. Þatt temmple þatt wass wrohht Off trewwess & off staness.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 12399 (Cott.). Þe knaue þat þis timber fett … ouer scort he broght a tre.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, XIII. 238. Schetis … Thai festnyt in steid of baneris Apon lang treis and on speris.
1523. Fitzherb., Husb., § 3. The ploughe-beame is the longe tree aboue. Ibid., § 4. The sharbeame is the tre vnderneth, wherevpon the share is set.
1642. in J. Watson, Jedburgh Abbey (1894), 85. Thrie scoir singill tries, threttie double tries, two hundred daills to be scaffolding and centtries.
1787. MS. Deed. Such trees and pipes as are now laid for conveying water from the said spring.
1848. Kingsley, Night Bird, 4. All night I heard a singing bird Upon the topmast tree.
1887. Suppl. to Jamieson, s.v., A straight piece of rough timber used as a pole, lever, prop, or stay, is called a tree; as, a dyer’s-tree, a raising-tree or lever for moving a mill-stone.
b. A stick, esp. a staff, cudgel: cf. PLANT sb.1 1 b. Obs. exc. Sc.
c. 893. K. Ælfred, Oros., IV. i. § 6. Hie namon treowu, & sloʓon on oþerne ende moniʓe scearpe isene næʓlas.
c. 1205. Lay., 25978. His fur he beten agon & muchele treowen læide on.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 402. ‘Louerd,’ cweð heo to Elie,… ‘lo! ich geder two treon.’
14[?]. Emaré, 365. She was wax lene as a tre.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, II. 97. A huntyn staff in till his hand he bar; Thar with he smat on Willȝham Wallace thair. Bot for his tre litill sonȝhe he maid.
1588. Reg. Privy Council Scot., Ser. I. IV. 270. The said Robert Lekky … maliciouslie straik and dang thame with rungis and treis.
c. 1680. Songs of Scotl. (1893), 43. I am a puir silly auld man, And hirplin’ ower a tree.
17[?]. Gude Wallace, x., in Aytoun, Ballads Scot. (1858), I. 56. He’s gane to the West-muir wood, And there he pull’d a trusty tree.
4. a. The cross on which Christ was crucified, the holy rood. arch. and poet.
a. 1000. Rood, 25 (Gr.). Hwæðre ic … beheold hreowceariʓ hælendes treow.
c. 1275. On Serving Christ, 30, in O. E. Misc., 91. As he for monkunnes neodes don wes on þe treo.
1382. Wyclif, Acts v. 30. The God of oure fadris reyside Jhesu, whom ȝe slowen, hangynge in a tree [Tindale, and hanged on tree]. Ibid., 1 Pet. ii. 24. He … suffride, [gloss] or bar, oure synnes in his body on the tree.
1460. Capgrave, Chron. (Rolls), 106. A nayle, with whech oure Lord was nayled to the tre.
1596. R. Cotton, Armor of Proofe, xiv. Christ,… who did our sinnes and foes to tree fast binde.
1635. Pagitt, Christianogr., III. (1636), 52. Helena the Empresse found the Crosse, and adored the King, but not the Tree.
1707. Watts, Hymn, ‘Alas! and did my Saviour bleed?’ iii. Was it for crimes that I had done He groan’d upon the tree?
1820. T. Kelly, Hymn, We sing the praise of Him who died,’ ii. He bears our sins upon the tree.
b. A gallows. Also † dry tree, Tyburn tree.
c. 1425. Cast. Persev., 177, in Macro Plays, 82. Pyncecras, Parys, & longe Pygmayne, And euery toun in Trage, euyn to þe dreye tre.
1500–20. Dunbar, Poems, xvii. 28. Sum … nevir fra taking can hald thair hand, Quhill he be tit vp to ane tre.
a. 1533. Ld. Berners, Huon, xviii. 49. Not lettynge for fere of any deth, though it be to go to the dry tre.
1535. Coverdale, Esther vi. 4. To hange Mardocheus on ye tre yt he had prepared for him.
1609. B. Jonson, Masque of Queens, ad init. From the dungeon, from the tree That they die on, here are we [witches]!
a. 1704. T. Brown, Satire on Quack, Wks. 1730, I. 62. Though it was thy luck to cheat the fatal tree.
1818. Scott, Hrt. Midl., iv. The area of the Grassmarket … in the centre of which arose the fatal tree, tall, black, and ominous, from which dangled the deadly halter.
1847. Kingsley, Outlaw, x. And when I’m taen and hangit,… ye’ll steal me frae the tree.
5. The wooden shaft of a spear, handle of an implement, etc.; hence, a spear, lance (in phr. to break a tree). Now dial.
a. 1366[?]. Chaucer, Rom. Rose, 948. Ten brode arowis hilde he there,… But iren was ther noon ne stelle, For al was golde,… Outake the fetheres & the tree.
c. 1400. Laud Troy-Bk., 12697. He was wounded with a spere … Hede & tre lefft bothe In him.
a. 1600. Montgomerie, Misc. Poems, xlix. 24. We dout not bot they [thy knights] dar … be bold to brek a tre.
1611. Cotgr., Abrier d’Arbeleste, the tree of a Crossebow.
1765. Museum Rust., III. 240. The person should have a spade … about four inches broad, and eighteen inches long in the bit,… with a tree in it of three feet six inches long.
1881. Leicester Gloss., Tree, a wooden handle or stail.
† b. A wooden structure; applied poet. or rhet. to a ship; in quot. 1513 to the wooden horse at the siege of Troy. Obs.
1382. Wyclif, Wisd. xiv. 1. Another thenkende to seilen,… the tree berende hym.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, II. i. 60. In this tree ar Grekis closit.
1535. Coverdale, Wisd. x. 4. Whan ye water destroyed ye whole worlde, wyszdome preserued the righteous thorow a poore tre.
1594. Marlowe & Nashe, Dido, IV. iv. Here’s Aeneas’ tackling, oars, and sails…. Oh, cursed tree, hadst thou but wit or sense, To measure how I prize Aeneas’ love.
c. A wooden vessel; barrel, cask, ‘the wood.’ Sc.
1513. Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot., IV. 487. Item to hir in aile, full to seywart xxiiij last and a barrell,… ilk barrell contenand xij gallonis, price of the galloune xx d; summa of the last with the tree … xiij li. viij s. Ibid. (1532), VI. 156. xij 1/2 barrellis of aill, ilk barrell contenand v gallonis…. Item, for xij treis to put the samyn intill, for ilk tree xviij d.
1656. Tucker, Rep. Revenues Scot. (Bann. Cl.), 10. The Scots use noe certaine vessells, but such as by a generall terme they call Trees,… some holding more or lesse gallons the tree.
a. 1814. Ramsay, Scotl. & Scotsmen in 18th. C., viii. (1888), II. 78. The scourging a nine-gallon tree … consisted in drawing the spigot of a barrel of ale, and never quitting it … till it was drunk out.
d. The framework of a saddle: = SADDLE-TREE, q.v. for earlier quots.
1535. Stewart, Cron. Scot. (Rolls), III. 300. Ane hors he fand … Without saidill, curpall, tre, or brydill.
1591. Greene, Art Conny Catch., II. (1592), 5. His sadle is made without any tree.
1665. Sir T. Herbert, Trav. (1677), 314. Saddles of the better sort are usually of Velvet;… the trees are curiously painted.
1737. Bracken, Farriery Impr. (1756), I. 328. If the Saddle be too narrow in the Tree.
1862. Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit., II. No. 4721. Elliptical spring-seat saddle, and tree showing action of spring.
c. A block upon which a boot is shaped or stretched: = boot-tree (BOOT sb.3 8).
1541. Knaresborough Wills (Surtees), I. 35. ij paire of boytte treys.
1596. Nashe, Saffron Walden, 17. Rayse thy conceipt on the trees, or … new corke it at the heeles, before it should thus walke bare-foote.
1766. [see boot-tree, BOOT sb.3 8].
1839. Thackeray, Fatal Boots, Nov. As I was polishing on the trees a pair of boots.
1891. Kipling, Light that Failed, viii. As Dick … busied himself among the former’s boots and trees.
6. Something resembling a tree with its branches. a. A diagram or table of a family, indicating its original ancestor as the root, and the various branches of descendants; in full, family or genealogical tree. Also fig. a family, race, stock. (b) Porphyrian tree (Logic): see PORPHYRIAN.
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 7255. Þo smot uerst þis tre aȝen to is kunde more [i.e., natural root].
a. 1300. Cursor M., 1625 (Cott.). Bot first a tre,… I sal sette hire [v.r. here] of adam kin.
1693. Stepney, in Dryden’s Juvenal, viii. 11. Vain are their Hopes, who fancy to inherit By Trees of Pedigrees, or Fame, or Merit.
1762–71. H. Walpole, Vertue’s Anecd. Paint. (1786), V. 305. Two genealogic trees.
1825. T. Hook, Sayings, Ser. II. Doubts & F., v. A more honourable tree does not flourish in the archives of heraldry than ours.
1858. M. Arnold, Merope, 865. So dies the last shoot of our royal tree!
b. Any structure or figure, natural or artificial, of branched form.
spec. (a) (tr. arbor in med.L. phrases). An arborescent mass of crystals forming from a solution, as of silver (DIANA’S tree), of lead (SATURN’S tree), etc. (b) Applied to the spinal nervous system, consisting of the spinal cord and the nerves branching out from it. (c) A branched respiratory organ in Holothurians. (d) A worked design of tree-like form. (e) Math. A figure or diagram consisting of branching lines.
1706–. [see DIANA 2].
1843. R. J. Graves, Syst. Clin. Med., xxx. 396. A certain portion of the extreme branches of the nervous tree.
1844. Lead-tree [see LEAD sb.1 12].
1857. Cayley, Math. Papers (1890), III. 242. On the Theory of the analytical Forms called Trees.
1865–8. Watts, Dict. Chem., III. 478. By the electro-chemical action of zinc in a solution of acetate of lead, it is deposited in an arborescent form, known under the name of Saturn’s Tree.
1870. Rolleston, Anim. Life, Introd. 145. In the Holothurioidea these coeca take a great development, and are known as the ‘lungs’ or ‘respiratory trees.’ Ibid., 149. The left respiratory tree.
1879. Unif. Reg., in Navy List, July (1882), 497/1. Tree of trimming braid at top of back.
7. Phrases. At the top of the tree, in the highest position: see TOP sb.1 14. Up a tree (colloq., orig. U.S.), debarred from escape, like a hunted animal driven to take refuge in a tree; entrapped; in an awkward position, in a difficulty or ‘fix.’ One cannot see the wood for the trees: see WOOD sb.
1774. Foote, Cozeners, I. (1778), 16. Master Moses is an absolute Proteus; in every elegance, at the top of the tree.
1782–. [see TOP sb.1 14].
1825. J. Neal, Bro. Jonathan, II. 103. If I didn’t—I’m up a tree—that’s a fact.
1839. Thackeray, Major Gahagan, v. I had her in my power—up a tree, as the Americans say.
1857. Hughes, Tom Brown, I. vii. ‘What a pull,’ said he, ‘that it’s lie-in-bed, for I shall be as lame as a tree, I think.’
b. Phrases with of. Tree of Buddha, or of wisdom = BO-TREE. Tree of chastity = AGNUS CASTUS (Treas. Bot.); also called chaste-tree (CHASTE a. 9). Tree of Diana: see DIANA 2, and cf. 6 b (a) above. Tree of heaven AILANTO. Tree of Jesse: see JESSE. Tree of knowledge, (a) loosely used as = next; (b) a figurative or symbolic expression for knowledge in general, comprising all its ‘branches.’ Tree of the knowledge of good and evil: see Gen. ii. 9, etc. Tree of liberty, a tree (or a pole) planted in celebration of a revolution or victory securing liberty (chiefly in reference to the French Revolution); also fig. Tree of life, (a) a tree symbolic of life or immortality, esp. that in the narrative of the garden of Eden (Gen. ii. 9, etc.); also fig.; (b) a shrub of the genus Thuya; = ARBOR VITÆ 1; (c) Anat. = ARBOR VITÆ 2. Tree of mercy, in mediæval legend, the allegorical tree which yielded the oil of mercy, and was at length to bear Christ for the healing of mankind. Tree of Paradise, the plantain (Musa paradisiaca). Tree of Porphyry (Logic): PORPHYRIAN tree. Tree of the universe, the mythical ash-tree or Yggdrasil of Scandinavian mythology. Tree of wisdom = tree of Buddha.
c. 1820. Philos. Recreat., 131. A curious Chemical Experiment, called the Tree of *Diana. Note, This is the modern silver tree.
1849. [see DIANA 2].
1845. Tree of *heaven (see AILANTO].
1898. Daily News, 31 May, 5/3. Some handsome specimens of tropical trees—the tree of heaven and the tulip.
1535. Coverdale, Gen. ii. 9. The tre of life in the myddest of the garden, and the tre of *knowlege of good and euell.
1848. Lowell, Fable for Critics, 766. Their backs he salutes With the whole tree of knowledge torn up by the roots.
1765. Pennsylvania Gaz., 26 Sept., 2/3. On the Body of the largest Tree was fixed with large deck Nails, that it might last (as a Poet said, like oaken Bench to Perpetuity) a Copper-Plate, with these Words stamped thereon, in Golden Letters, THE TREE OF *LIBERTY, August 14, 1765.
1765. Universal Mag., XXXVII. Suppl. 376/2 (Amer.). The people were soon informed that the great tree at the south part of the town (known by the name of the Tree of Liberty ever since the memorable 14th of August) was adorned with the effigies of the two famous or rather infamous enemies of American liberties.
1837. Carlyle, Fr. Rev., II. I. xii. A Tree of Liberty sixty feet high; and Phrygian Cap on it, of size enormous.
1890. Lecky, Hist. Eng., xxvii. VII. 207. Trees of liberty had been planted in Antrim, and bonfires lit in consequence of French victories.
1382. Wyclif, Gen. ii. 9. The tree of *lijf in the mydle of paradys.
1599. Davies, Immort. Soul, XXXI. vii. (1714), 109. But Truth, which is eternal, feeds the Mind; The Tree of Life, which will not let her die.
1712. J. Petiver, in Phil. Trans., XXVII. 423. American Tree of Life.
1760. J. Lee, Introd. Bot., App. 317. Tree of Life, Thuya.
1913. R. C. Maclagan, Our Ancestors, viii. 121. There was another locality for the Tree of Life.
c. 1375. Canticum de Creatione, 620, in Horstmann, Altengl. Leg. (1878), 132. And to þe tre of *mercy blyf Where out renneþ oyle of lyf His angel wil doun sende. Ibid., 695. To haue mercy on Adam,… And hem senden his angel fro hy To ȝeuen hem of þe tre of mercy Oyle, to helen him wyth.
1567. Maplet, Gr. Forest, 63. The tree of *Paradise saith Cardane, is of short life, for the second yeare his bodie drieth vp and waxeth barraine: It beareth fruit like a cluster of Grapes, but in bignesse of an Apple.
1770. Encycl. Brit., IV. 739/1. The sacred Bo tree or tree of *wisdom.
8. attrib. or as adj. (in sense 2). Made or formed of ‘tree,’ wooden: = TREEN a. 1. Obs. exc. dial.
c. 1375. Cursor M., 12389 (Fairf.). Tree [v.rr. treen, trein] beddis coude he make. Ibid., 21048. Of tree wandis golde he wroȝt.
1402–3. Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees), 217. j stanetrogh et j tre trogh.
1480. Caxton, Chron. Eng., IV. (1520), 37/1. In olde tyme the consecracyon … was made in tree vessell.
1587–8. Burgh Rec. Edinb. (1882), IV. 515. To caus mak ane pair of trey buits.
1599. Lanc. Wills (Chetham Soc.), III. 10. All other tree vessell whatsoever.
1640. R. Baillie, Canterb. Self-Convict., 77. Their very tree-shoone.
1750. in Cloud of Witnesses (1778), App. 361. A cripple with a tree leg.
1881. Leicester Gloss., s.v., A ‘tree leg’ is a wooden leg.
9. attrib. and Comb. a. General attrib. (= ‘of a tree or trees’), as tree-avenue, -bark, -belt, -bole, -bough, -branch, -foliage, -foot, -fruit, -group, -life, -lore, -nursery, -root, -seed, -shadow, -soul, -stem, -stump, -trunk, -twig, etc. b. Objective and obj. gen., as tree-enchanter, -fancier, -feller, -lopper, -planter; tree-boring, -chopping, -climbing, -daubing, -felling, -growing, -haunting, -inhabiting, -lopping, -loving, -planting, -smearing sbs. and adjs. c. Instrumental, as tree-bordered, -clad, -covered, -crowned, -dotted, -fringed, -garnished, -girt, -lined, -planted, -set, -shaded, -skirted, etc. adjs. d. Locative, as tree-dweller; tree-dwelling, -feeding, -living. e. Similative, etc., as tree-great, -like adjs.
1910. Haddon, Races of Man, 74. Men still wear the *tree-bark loincloth and the women a tree-bark wrapper.
1836–48. B. D. Walsh, Aristoph., Clouds, I. iv. Fly to the tops of the *tree-clad mountains!
1894. Pop. Sci. Monthly, June, 69. Such is the name of the *tree-dweller.
1908. Sir H. Johnston, Grenfell & Congo, II. xxi. 507. These *tree-dwelling Pygmies.
1865. Kingsley, Herew., xxx. Swaff ham, Quy, and Waterbeach, and the rest of the *tree-embowered hamlets which fringed the fen.
1788. Cowper, Mrs. Throckmorton’s Bullfinch, xi. The *tree-enchanter Orpheus.
1853. Zoologist, II. 4035. Instances of *tree-feeding species.
1849. J. Forbes, Physic. Holiday, i. They … indulge in farming, gardening, *tree-felling.
1855. Kingsley, Heroes, III. (1868), 32. Round the *tree-foot was coiled the dragon.
1704. J. Pitts, Acc. Mohammetans, 66. They have but little *Tree-Fruit.
1601. Weever, Mirr. Mart., E vij. *Tree-garnisht Cambriaes loftie mountaines.
1812. W. Tennant, Anster F., II. xxxiv. All the *tree-girt country-seats.
1904. Spencer & Gillen, North. Tribes Central Australia, xvii. 527. A visit to the *tree grave.
1600. Fairfax, Tasso, XI. xxxvii. With dreadfull hornes of iron tought *tree-great.
1871. Darwin, Desc. Man, II. xvi. (1890), 489. *Tree-haunting birds.
1898. Saga-Bk. Viking Club, Jan., 122. The *tree-life of Western Greenland.
1630. R. Johnson’s Kingd. & Commw., 7. The hollow truncks of most *tree-like canes being full of water.
1776. Withering, Brit. Plants (1796), II. 316. Stem tree-like.
1844. Mrs. Browning, Lost Bower, iii. A little wood … As it climbeth … Sideway from the *tree-locked valley.
1589. Fleming, Virg. Bucol. & Georg., 3. The *treelopper … Shall chaunt and sing.
1885–94. R. Bridges, Eros & Psyche, Aug., xiv. The great hill-haunting and *tree-loving Pan.
1905. A. R. Wallace, Life, II. 153. The gardens, the greenhouses, the *tree-nursery.
1864. H. Woodward, in Intell. Observer, V. 181. Piece of a Vase ornamented with a *tree pattern.
1825. Cobbett, Rur. Rides (1885), II. 227. Experienced *tree-planters.
c. 1440. Alphabet of Tales, 488. He sett hym down at a *tre-rute in þe son to comfurth hym.
1870. Morris, Earthly Par., III. IV. 385. Like to a *tree-set garden.
1854. H. Miller, Sch. & Schm., xxiii. (1858), 499. A *tree-skirted glade.
1871. Kingsley, At Last, xi. We were aware, between the *tree-stems, of a green misty gulf.
1837. T. Moore, Handbk. Brit. Ferns (ed. 3), 56. A decaying mossy *tree-stump.
1894. H. Nisbet, Bush Girl’s Rom., 200. There … sat the chief … with his back against a *tree-trunk.
1914. Munro, Prehist. Britain, viii. 185. Only two or three … tree-trunk coffins have been found in Britain.
10. Special Combs. a. in names of plants, usually denoting species or varieties that grow to the stature or in the form of a tree, sometimes those that grow on trees; as tree amaranthus, cabbage, carnation, CELANDINE, crane’s-bill, fuchsia, HOUSE-LEEK, MALLOW, melon, MIGNONETTE, ONION, pea, PEONY, POPPY, PRIMROSE, rhododendron, TOMATO, VIOLET, WILLOW, WORMWOOD; tree aloe, Aloë dichotoma; tree azalea, Azalea (Rhododendron) arborescens; tree-beard, (a) Tillandsia usneoides; (b) the lichen Usnea barbata; tree cactus, a tall-growing cactus, as the saguaro; tree clover, Melilotus alba; tree cotton, Gossypium arboreum; tree cranberry = CRANBERRY-tree; tree germander, Teucrium fruticans (Miller, Plant-n.); tree golden-rod = GOLDEN-ROD tree; tree-hair: see quots.; tree heath, Erica arborea; tree lily, (a) a plant of the genus Vellozia (N.O. Amaryllidaceæ), comprising arborescent species found in Brazil and S. Africa, with lily-like flowers; (b) a name for the genus Dracæna (N.O. Liliaceæ); tree lotus, the nettle-tree, Celtis australis; LOTE-TREE a; tree lungwort, (a) a lichen, Sticta pulmonaria, = LUNGWORT 5; (b) a boraginaceous plant, Mertensia virginica (cf. LUNGWORT 3 b); tree lupine, Lupinus arboreus of California; tree medick: see quot.; tree nettle = NETTLE-TREE 2; tree onion: see ONION 2; tree orchid, orchis, an orchid growing on trees, as those of the genus Epidendrum; tree poke, Phytolacca dioica; tree purslane = PURSLANE-tree (b); tree sorrel, Rumex Lunaria; tree-tobacco: see quot. (See also TREE-CREEPER 2, -FERN, -MOSS, -TREFOIL.)
1786. Abercrombie, Gard. Assist., 115. India pink, mignonette,… *tree-amaranthus.
1884. Miller, Plant-n., Azalea arborescens, Smooth Azalea, *Tree Azalea.
1861. Bentley, Man. Bot., 675. Tillandsia usneoides is commonly called *Tree-beard or Old Man’s Beard, from the … mass of dark coloured fibres, which hang from the trees in South America.
1829. Glover’s Hist. Derby, I. 199. The ten-thousand-headed cabbage, or *tree cabbage.
1884. De Candolle’s Orig. Cultiv. Plants, 106. Upper Egypt,… where we know the *tree-cotton to be wild.
1868. B. J. Lossing, Hudson, 35. Here and there among the rocks … the *tree-cranberry appeared.
1712. J. Petiver, in Phil. Trans., XXVII. 420. Hermans round-leaved Cape *Tree Cranes-bill.
1597. Gerarde, Herbal, II. cciii. 532. Of *Tree Germander.
1866. Treas. Bot., 1161. *Tree-hair, a name sometimes given to the dark wiry pendulous entangled masses of a lichen, Cornicularia jubata,… not uncommon on trees in sub-alpine woods. Ibid., 1197. The species [of Usnea] … are often called Tree Moss or Tree Hair.
1777. Hunter, in Phil. Trans., LXVIII. 40. The erica arborea or *Tree-heath, a native of Spain and Portugal.
1907. Gentl. Mag., July 98/2. The big tree-heaths begin about 9500 ft.
1891. Cent. Dict., s.v. Vellozia, *Tree-lily.
1597. Gerarde, Herbal, III. clix. 1377. Lichen arborum, *Tree Lungwoort.
1882. Garden, 3 June, 381/1. The *Tree Lupine … bears a profusion of yellow flowers.
1884. Miller, Plant-n., Medicago arborea, Moon-Trefoil, *Tree Medick.
1905. Daily Graphic, 16 Jan., 4/4. The mummy-apple, a delicate *tree-melon.
1884. Leisure Hour, Feb., 84/1. The *tree-pea, a shrub bearing pods very similar to those familiar to us all.
1842. J. Aiton, Domest. Econ. (1857), 287. The laburnums,… the dwarf almond on the verge of the walks, and the *tree-peony.
1882. Garden, 22 July, 73/3. The *tree Purslane … is a loose, rambling plant.
1848. trans. Hoffmeister’s Trav. Ceylon, etc., iv. 181. A forest of magnificent *Tree-Rhododendrons.
1753. Chambers, Cycl. Supp., s.v. Sorrel, The roundish-leaved *tree-sorrel.
1895. Daily News, 29 Aug., 5/4. A very undesirable weed from the Argentine is spreading in the Canary Islands. This is the *Tree-tobacco, a slender, weedy-looking plant with greyish-green leaves and yellow tubular flowers. It is a troublesome pest in New South Wales and Victoria, where it is regarded as poisonous to cattle and horses.
b. in names of animals living in or on or frequenting trees, as tree-ant, -bee, -beetle, -boa, -chafer, -CUCKOO, -falcon, -KANGAROO, -leech, -linnet (Sc. -lintie), -monkey, -PARTRIDGE, -PIPIT, SHRIKE, -slug, -SQUIRREL, -SWALLOW, -SWIFT, -WASP; tree-asp, a venomous serpent of the genus Dendraspis; tree-bear (U.S. local), a name for the racoon; tree-bug, any one of various hemipterous insects that feed upon the juices of trees and shrubs; tree-butterfly, a butterfly that lives among trees, as those of the S. African genus Charaxes; tree-cat, (a) a viverrine animal of the genus Paradoxurus, a palm-cat; (b) = tree-fox; tree-crab, a species of land-crab, Birgus latro, also called palm-crab (see PALM sb.1 7); tree-cricket, a cricket of the genus Œcanthus; tree-crow, (a) any one of various Oriental birds intermediate between crows and jays, as the genera Crypsirhina, Dendrocitta, etc.; (b) wattled tree-crow, a crow of the sub-family Glaucopinæ, a wattle-crow; tree-dove, any one of numerous arboreal species of pigeon of India, Australia, etc., belonging or allied to the genus Macropygia; tree-duck, a duck of the genus Dendrocygna or an allied genus; tree-finch = TREE SPARROW a; tree-fish: see quot.; tree-fly, a fly of the family Xylophagidæ; tree-fox: see quot.; tree-hoopoe, a bird of the genus Irrisor, a wood-hoopoe; tree-hopper, any one of various homopterous insects that live on trees; sometimes spec. the cicada; tree-lark = tree-pipit; tree-lizard, a lizard of the group Dendrosaura; tree-lobster = tree-crab; tree-louse, an aphis, a plant-louse; tree-martin, (a) an Australian bird, Petrochelidon nigricans (Morris, Austral Eng.); (b) a S. American bird, Progne tapera; tree-mouse, (a) any species of mouse of arboreal habits; (b) see quot. 1897; tree-oyster, an oyster found upon the roots of the mangrove; tree-pie, a tree-crow of the genus Dendrocitta, found in India, China and neighboring countries; tree-pigeon, any one of various arboreal pigeons inhabiting Asia, Africa and Australia; tree-porcupine, any porcupine of the subfamily Sphingurinæ, inhabiting America and the West Indies, living in trees, and having prehensile tails; tree-rat, an arboreal rodent, as those of the West Indian genera Capromys and Plagiodon; tree-serpent, tree-snake, any snake of arboreal habits, as those of the families Dendrophidæ and Dipsadidæ (both non-venomous); tree-shrew, an insectivorous animal of the genus Tupaia, a squirrel-shrew; tree-tiger, a name for the leopard (Cent. Dict.); tree-warbler, a bird of the genus Hypolais (sometimes reckoned as a subgenus of Sylvia). (See also TREE-CREEPER 1, -FROG, -GOOSE, -SPARROW, -TOAD, -WORM.)
1899. F. V. Kirby, Sport E. C. Africa, xv. 163. A colony of those terrible insects, the red *tree-ants.
1891. Cent. Dict., *Tree-bear.
1902. Westm. Gaz., 31 May, 2/1. Joe produced from the recesses of his loose blouse a baby tree-bear and a handful of gum leaves.
1693. Phil. Trans., XVII. 612. He admires the … Contrivance of the Honeycomb, and particularly the *Tree-Bee.
1747. Baker, ibid., XLIV. 578. The *Tree-Beetle, or blind Beetle, vulgarly in Norfolk called the Dor.
1842. Loudon, Suburban Hort., 108. Besides the above-mentioned Ichneumonidæ, ants, field or *tree bugs, and many sorts of spiders, contribute … to the extirpation of various insects.
1869. R. Trimen, in The Cape & its People (ed. R. Noble), 99. One of these *tree-butterflies, massive of thorax and broad and rigid of wing.
1885. Hornaday, 2 Yrs. in Jungle, vii. 70. It proved to be a *tree-cat (Paradoxurus musanga).
1894. Lydekker, Royal Nat. Hist., I. 457. The palm-civets, tree-cats, or toddy-cats, as they are indifferently called.
1704. Petiver, Gazophyl., II. xix. The great Brown-*Tree-Chaffer.
1816. Kirby & Sp., Entomol., xxiii. (1818), II. 321. The less savage but equally destructive tree-chafers (Melolonthæ).
1859. Ripley & Dana, Amer. Cycl., VI. 63/1. They form the genus œcanthus, and are called *tree or climbing crickets.
1879. E. P. Wright, Anim. Life, 246. Of the *Tree Crows we can only mention—The Benteot (Crypsirhina varia) of Java.
1872. Coues, N. Amer. Birds, 45. The crural feathers are … sometimes long and flowing, as in … our *tree-cuckoos.
1824. Stephens, in Shaw, Gen. Zool., XII. II. 98. *Tree Duck … inhabits the West India islands and the adjacent continent…. It is said to make a whistling … noise, and to build its nest in trees.
1668. Charleton, Onomast., 66. Falco Arborarius,… the *tree-Falcon.
1783. Latham, Synopsis Birds, III. 252. *Tree Finch … is observed always to build on trees, and not in buildings like the House Sparrow.
1888. Goode, Amer. Fishes, 263. Sebastichthys sirriceps,… known as the *‘Tree-fish,’ an appellation originating with the Portuguese … and without obvious application.
1904. P. Fountain, Gt. North-West, etc., x. 104. The *tree-fox, or tree-cat, of the trappers. This is Mustela pennanti, often called the fish-marten.
1873. Cassell’s Bk. Birds, III. 15. The *Tree Hoopoes (Irrisor) inhabit the forests of Africa…. [They] pass their lives exclusively upon trees.
1836–9. Todd’s Cycl. Anat., II. 868/2. The … *tree-hoppers … approach to the Terebrantia.
1850. Gosse, Rivers of Bible (1878), 286. Probably tree-hoppers, cicadæ, are meant.
1900. Pollok & Thom, Sports Burma, II. 40. The *tree-leeches, so plentiful in forests … in Lower Burma, are a sad drawback to the pleasures of sport.
1844. Zoologist, II. 508. Chaffinch, *‘Tree-lintie.’
1797. Monthly Mag., III. 454/2. Bonnet … applied himself … to collecting … his experiments and observations concerning the *tree-louse and the worm.
1893. Outing (U.S.), XXII. 109/2. Swarms of *tree-monkeys congregate in chattering throngs.
1897. Blanchan, Bird Neighbors, 84. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)… Called also *Tree-mouse.
1904. Q. Rev., Oct., 472. The tree-mice and the veldt-rats.
1767. Ellis, in Phil. Trans., LVII. 432. The *Tree Oyster, and the Slipper Barnicle.
1901. Daily Chron., 28 Sept., 5/2. Proposal for increasing and improving the cultivation of tree oysters.
1895. Lydekker, Royal Nat. Hist., IV. 413. The common *tree-partridge (A[rboricola] torqueolus) ranging to an elevation of fourteen thousand feet.
1871. Kingsley, At Last, v. The *Tree Porcupine, or Coendou,… climbs trees after leaves, and swings about like the monkeys.
1885. Hornaday, 2 Yrs. in Jungle, xv. 171. Two *tree-rats (Mus rufescens) used to come into my hut from the jungle.
1731. Medley, Kolben’s Cape G. Hope, II. 163. The *Tree-Serpent is so call’d on account of her being seen mostly in trees.
1893. Lydekker, Royal Nat. Hist., I. 312. With the *tree-shrews, or tupaias, we come to the first family of the true Insectivores.
1866–8. Owen, Vertebr. Anim. I. 327. Some nocturnal *Tree-Snakes (Dryophys, Passerita) have a prolonged snout.
1881. Seebohm, Brit. Mus. Catal. Birds, V. 78. The Icterine *Tree-Warbler breeds in Central and Northern Europe, from the Atlantic to the Ural Mountains, extending northwards as far as the Arctic circle.
c. Other Special Combs.: tree-agate, a variety of agate with dendritic or tree-like markings (cf. MOSS-agate); tree-bridge, † (a) a wooden bridge (obs.); (b) a bridge formed by a fallen tree; tree-burial, the custom, among some tribes, of disposing of dead bodies by placing them in hollow trunks, or among the branches, of trees; tree-calf (Bookbinding): see quots.; tree-claim (U.S.), a ‘claim’ or piece of land allotted with the proviso that it shall become the property of the occupier after a fixed term on condition of his planting a certain proportion of it with trees; tree-climber, a person or animal that climbs a tree or trees; spec. (a) = TREE-CREEPER 1; (b) a fish, the ANABAS or climbing perch; tree-clipper (local), the common tree-creeper (Certhia familiaris); tree-coffin, a prehistoric coffin made of a hollow tree-trunk; † tree-cop (obs.) = TREE-TOP; tree-coupling, in a vehicle, a piece connecting a ‘single-tree’ or swingletree and a double-tree; † tree-crop (obs.) = TREE-TOP; tree-cult, -cultus = tree-worship; tree-deity = tree-god; tree-digger: see quot.; tree-drum, a drum made from the trunk of a tree; tree-god, a divinity supposed to inhabit a tree, or a tree that is an object of worship; so tree-goddess; † tree-honey (obs.), a sweet juice or gum exuding from certain trees; tree-house, a house built in a tree (as by the natives of New Guinea) for security against enemies; tree-iron: see quot.; † tree-jobber (obs.) [JOBBER 1], a woodpecker; tree-legged a. (obs. or dial.), wooden-legged; tree-lifter: see quot.; tree-line, the line or level on a mountain above which no trees grow (cf. snow-line); tree-maker, a maker of saddle-trees; tree-man, one of a race of men living in trees; tree-marble, -marbling (Bookbinding), marbling or staining in a tree-like branching pattern (cf. tree-calf); tree-marking, a tree-like or branched marking on the body of a person struck by lightning; tree-milk, a milky juice used for food, obtained from a tree or tree-like plant, as those called COW-TREE, or the COW-PLANT of Ceylon; tree-nymph, a nymph supposed to inhabit a tree; tree-oil = TUNG-oil; tree-protector, a contrivance for protecting the bark of a tree from injury by destructive insects, etc. (Knight, Dict. Mech., 1877); tree-pruner, an implement for pruning trees; tree-remover, an apparatus for transplanting trees (Knight, 1877); tree-rune, one of a set of runes or alphabetic characters of branched or tree-like form; tree-scraper, an implement for scraping moss, dead bark, etc., from trees (Knight, 1877); tree-spirit, a spirit believed to inhabit a tree (cf. tree-god, tree-nymph); † tree-stone, a precious stone having tree-like markings (cf. tree-agate); † tree-turned a. (obs.), turned or changed into a tree; tree-village, a village consisting of tree-houses; tree-wax, any kind of wax produced from a tree, as Chinese wax, Japan wax; tree-wool, a woolly substance obtained from a tree, as pine-wool (PINE sb.2 7); † tree-work (obs.), work in wood, carpentry; so † tree-worker, a carpenter; tree-worship, worship rendered to trees or to the spirits supposed to inhabit them; so tree-worshipper, tree-worshipping.
1596. Dalrymple, trans. Leslie’s Hist. Scot., V. (S.T.S.), I. 276. Thay … casting doune the *trie brig,… erected a fayre stane brig.
1839–52. Bailey, Festus, xxvi. 446. To dare the broken tree-bridge across the stream.
1900. Proc. Zool. Soc., 2 April, 309. In the States of Patalung and Singgora … the Siamese practise a form of *tree-burial.
1879. Cassell’s Techn. Educ., IV. 89. A third style of ornamentation is called *tree-calf.
1895. Zaehnsdorf, Bookbinding, 28. Tree Calf.—Bright brown calf stained with acids in conventional imitation of the branches of a tree.
1890. L. C. D’Oyle, Notches, 44. I filed on the north-west quarter of 10 as a ‘homestead,’ and the north-east quarter as a *‘tree-claim.’
1879. Jefferies, Wild Life in S. Co., 175. If you sit down on the elm butt … and watch quietly, before long the little *tree-climber will come.
1885. C. F. Holder, Marvels Anim. Life, 36. The tree-climbar (Anabas scandens) one of which he had … captured.
1885. Swainson, Prov. Names Birds, 57. Tree Creeper … *Tree clipper (Oxon).
1877. Greenwell, Brit. Barrows, 32, note. Stowborough, Dorsetshire, where a body was discovered in 1767, in a *tree-coffin.
c. 1425. St. Christina, x., in Anglia, VIII. 123/21. She was constreyned to flee into ‘tree-coppys or touris, or in to oþere summe hygh þinges.
1877. Knight, Dict. Mech., *Tree-coupling, a piece uniting a single to a double tree.
14[?]. Childh. Jesus, 644, in Horstm., Altengl. Leg. (1878), 120. Alle þe chyldron … In to þe *tre-croppe hem toke.
1560. Rolland, Seven Sages, 66. The hird was sair feirit … That the tre crop he suld gar turne dounwart.
1905. Clodd, Animism, xiv. 74. In such customs and beliefs … are the materials of the manifold *tree-cults.
1871. Tylor, Prim. Culture, xv. II. 202. The whole *tree-cultus of the world must by no means be thrown indiscriminately into the one category.
1911. Encycl. Brit., XXVII. 237/1. The powers of the *tree-deities.
1877. Knight, Dict. Mech., *Tree-digger, a kind of double plow employed in nurseries for cutting off the roots of trees which have been planted in rows.
1849. Cupples, Green Hand, xvii. I could make out the hollow booming of the African *tree-drum.
1905. W. E. Geil, Yankee in Pigmy Land, v. 66. Their *tree-god, hideous and ridiculous.
1911. S. A. Cooke, in Encycl. Brit., XXVII. 237/2, note. An African tree-god with priests and ‘wives.’
1895. A. J. Evans, in Folk-Lore, March, 21. A *Tree-Goddess akin to the Dryads of old.
1626. Bacon, Sylva, § 848. It seemeth that there was, in old time, *Tree-Honey, as well as Bee-Honey.
1901. Wide World Mag., VI. 518/1. A New Guinea *tree-house.
1908. Daily Chron., 19 March, 6/6. A large store of ammunition in the shape of heavy stones is kept in the tree-houses, and is dropped with skill and discrimination upon the heads of … raiders.
1872. Knight, Dict. Mech., *Tree-irons, the irons connecting single to double trees, or the latter to the tongue of the vehicle. Also the hooks or clips by which the traces are attached.
1601. Holland, Pliny, X. xxix. There be no wood-pecks or *tree-jobbers.
1832. Ballantine, in Whistlebinkie (1890), I. 177. Ilk *tree-legged man, ilk club-taed laddie.
1844. G. Greenwood (title), The *Tree-lifter; or, a new method of transplanting Forest Trees.
1905. Westm. Gaz., 2 Sept., 2/3. Now we are high up, above the *tree-line.
1828. Sporting Mag., XXIII. 103. In making saddles … the trees of them are occasionally leaded by a *tree-maker.
1904. Edin. Rev., April, 348. The horrible little *tree-men discovered by Stanley.
1885. C. G. W. Lock, Workshop Receipts, Ser. IV. 266/1. Marbling on leather is produced by small drops of colouring liquids, drawn … into veins, and spread into fantastic forms resembling foliage—hence often called *‘tree-marble.’
1900. Lancet, 27 Oct., 1199/2. There was numbness in both legs and *tree-marking on the left breast.
1831. Keightley, Mythol. Gr. & It., I. xvi. 206. The *Tree-nymphs (Hamadryades), who were born and died with the trees.
1901. Trans. Yorksh. Dial. Soc., May, 82. An inscription in the cryptic characters, sometimes called *‘tree-runes.’
1871. Tylor, Prim. Cult., I. xi. 430. The belief in *tree-spirits, and the practice of tree-worship.
1897. Daily News, 1 May, 8/1. Our Jack-in-the-Green was originally the human embodiment of the tree spirit.
1698. J. Fryer, Acc. E. India & P., 215. *Tree-stones. Stones with the lively Representation or Form of a Tree thereon.
1605. Sylvester, Urania, lx. That sacred *Tree-turn’d Lady … From whose pure locks your still-green Laurels grow.
1901. Field, 27 April, 572/2. Another *tree village…, where I saw three houses erected on one tree.
1857. Miller, Elem. Chem. (1862), III. 267. The *tree wax of Japan consists of pure palmitin.
1870. Rock, Text. Fabr., i. (1876), 5. Embroidered with gold and *tree-wool.
c. 1205. Lay., 22899. Ich con of *treo-wrekes [= -werkes: c. 1275 treo-workes] wunder feole craftes.
1382. Wyclif, Isa. xliv. 12. The crafti man *tree werkere.
1860. E. S. Poole in Smith’s Dict. Bible, I. 95/2 (Arabia), The stone-worship, *tree-worship, &c., of various tribes.
1840. Thorpe, Anc. Laws, II. 249. We forbid … *tree worshipings [OE. treowwurþunga].
