noun
- any of a genus (Picea) of evergreen trees of the pine family, having slender needles that are rhombic in cross section
- the soft, light wood of any of these trees
- any of several evergreen trees, as the Douglas fir, resembling the spruces
Origin:
ME Spruce, for Pruce, Prussia < OFr < ML Prussia: prob. because the tree was first known as a native of Prussia