from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Spruce \Spruce\ (spr[udd]s), n. [OE. Spruce or Pruse, Prussia,
Prussian. So named because it was first known as a native of
Prussia, or because its sprouts were used for making, spruce
beer. Cf. Spruce beer, below, {Spruce}, a.]
1. (Bot.) Any coniferous tree of the genus {Picea}, as the
Norway spruce ({Picea excelsa}), and the white and black
spruces of America ({Picea alba} and {Picea nigra}),
besides several others in the far Northwest. See {Picea}.
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2. The wood or timber of the spruce tree.
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3. Prussia leather; pruce. [Obs.]
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Spruce, a sort of leather corruptly so called for
Prussia leather. --E. Phillips.
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{Douglas spruce} (Bot.), a valuable timber tree ({Pseudotsuga
Douglasii}) of Northwestern America.
{Essence of spruce}, a thick, dark-colored, bitterish, and
acidulous liquid made by evaporating a decoction of the
young branches of spruce.
{Hemlock spruce} (Bot.), a graceful coniferous tree ({Tsuga
Canadensis}) of North America. Its timber is valuable, and
the bark is largely used in tanning leather.
{Spruce beer}. [G. sprossenbier; sprosse sprout, shoot (akin
to E. sprout, n.) + bier beer. The word was changed into
spruce beer because the beer came from Prussia (OE.
Spruce), or because it was made from the sprouts of the
spruce. See {Sprout}, n., {Beer}, and cf. {Spruce}, n.] A
kind of beer which is tinctured or flavored with spruce,
either by means of the extract or by decoction.
{Spruce grouse}. (Zool.) Same as {Spruce partridge}, below.
{Spruce leather}. See {Spruce}, n., 3.
{Spruce partridge} (Zool.), a handsome American grouse
({Dendragapus Canadensis}) found in Canada and the
Northern United States; -- called also {Canada grouse}.
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