almond willow

almond willow
    n 1: Old World willow with light green leaves cultivated for use
         in basketry [syn: {almond willow}, {black Hollander},
         {Salix triandra}, {Salix amygdalina}]
    

Willow \Wil"low\, n. [OE. wilowe, wilwe, AS. wilig, welig; akin
   to OD. wilge, D. wilg, LG. wilge. Cf. {Willy}.]
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   1. (Bot.) Any tree or shrub of the genus {Salix}, including
      many species, most of which are characterized often used
      as an emblem of sorrow, desolation, or desertion. "A
      wreath of willow to show my forsaken plight." --Sir W.
      Scott. Hence, a lover forsaken by, or having lost, the
      person beloved, is said to wear the willow.
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            And I must wear the willow garland
            For him that's dead or false to me.   --Campbell.
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   2. (Textile Manuf.) A machine in which cotton or wool is
      opened and cleansed by the action of long spikes
      projecting from a drum which revolves within a box studded
      with similar spikes; -- probably so called from having
      been originally a cylindrical cage made of willow rods,
      though some derive the term from winnow, as denoting the
      winnowing, or cleansing, action of the machine. Called
      also {willy}, {twilly}, {twilly devil}, and {devil}.
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   {Almond willow}, {Pussy willow}, {Weeping willow}. (Bot.) See
      under {Almond}, {Pussy}, and {Weeping}.

   {Willow biter} (Zool.) the blue tit. [Prov. Eng.]

   {Willow fly} (Zool.), a greenish European stone fly
      ({Chloroperla viridis}); -- called also {yellow Sally}.

   {Willow gall} (Zool.), a conical, scaly gall produced on
      willows by the larva of a small dipterous fly ({Cecidomyia
      strobiloides}).

   {Willow grouse} (Zool.), the white ptarmigan. See
      {ptarmigan}.

   {Willow lark} (Zool.), the sedge warbler. [Prov. Eng.]

   {Willow ptarmigan} (Zool.)
      (a) The European reed bunting, or black-headed bunting.
          See under {Reed}.
      (b) A sparrow ({Passer salicicolus}) native of Asia,
          Africa, and Southern Europe.

   {Willow tea}, the prepared leaves of a species of willow
      largely grown in the neighborhood of Shanghai, extensively
      used by the poorer classes of Chinese as a substitute for
      tea. --McElrath.

   {Willow thrush} (Zool.), a variety of the veery, or Wilson's
      thrush. See {Veery}.

   {Willow warbler} (Zool.), a very small European warbler
      ({Phylloscopus trochilus}); -- called also {bee bird},
      {haybird}, {golden wren}, {pettychaps}, {sweet William},
      {Tom Thumb}, and {willow wren}.
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Almond \Alm"ond\ ([aum]"m[u^]nd), n. [OE. almande, almaunde,
   alemaunde, F. amande, L. amygdala, fr. Gr. 'amygda`lh: cf.
   Sp. almendra. Cf. {Amygdalate}.]
   1. The fruit of the almond tree.
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   Note: The different kinds, as bitter, sweet, thin-shelled,
         thick-shelled almonds, and Jordan almonds, are the
         products of different varieties of the one species,
         {Amygdalus communis}, a native of the Mediterranean
         region and western Asia.
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   2. The tree that bears the fruit; almond tree.
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   3. Anything shaped like an almond. Specifically: (Anat.) One
      of the tonsils.
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   {Almond oil}, fixed oil expressed from sweet or bitter
      almonds.

   {Oil of bitter almonds}, a poisonous volatile oil obtained
      from bitter almonds by maceration and distillation;
      benzoic aldehyde.

   {Imitation oil of bitter almonds}, nitrobenzene.

   {Almond tree} (Bot.), the tree bearing the almond.

   {Almond willow} (Bot.), a willow which has leaves that are of
      a light green on both sides; almond-leaved willow ({Salix
      amygdalina}). --Shenstone.
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