Word
spruce
US/ˈspɹus/
UK/spɹˈuːs/
Definition
n. a type of evergreen tree with short, sharp needles and cones. These trees stay green all year and are often used as Christmas trees.
n. any coniferous evergreen tree of the genus Picea, characterized by whorled branches and needle-like foliage. The wood is typically soft and light, frequently utilized in paper production and musical instrument making.
Examples
“The tall spruce stands in the middle of the garden.”
“The forest was thick with pine and spruce, creating a dense canopy that blocked out most of the sunlight.”
“Luthiers often prefer the wood of the Sitka spruce for guitar tops due to its high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent acoustic properties.”
Examples
simple
“The tall spruce stands in the middle of the garden.”
contextual
“The forest was thick with pine and spruce, creating a dense canopy that blocked out most of the sunlight.”
complex
“Luthiers often prefer the wood of the Sitka spruce for guitar tops due to its high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent acoustic properties.”
Usage
Uncountable when referring to the wood as a material; countable when referring to the individual tree species.
Real-World Examples
“A small spruce has taken root this high up—only 10 to 20 centimeters (4 to 8 inches) tall, but still ...” Etymology
From Middle English Spruce, an alteration of Pruce (“Prussia”), from Medieval Latin, from a Baltic language, probably Old Prussian; for more, see Prussia. Spruce, spruse (1412), and Sprws (1378) were terms for commodities brought to England by Hanseatic merchants (beer, wood, leather). The tree with this name was also believed to have been native to Prussia. The adjective and verb senses ("trim, neat" and "to make trim, neat") are attested from 1594, and originate with spruce leather (1466), which was used to make a popular style of jerkins in the 1400s that was considered smart-looking.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
spruce up — To dress or arrange smartly, elegantly, and neatly; to smarten.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/spruce