sprucing

Variant of spruce

spruce definition

spruce (spro̵̅o̅s)

noun

  1. any of a genus (Picea) of evergreen trees of the pine family, having slender needles that are rhombic in cross section
  2. the soft, light wood of any of these trees
  3. any of several evergreen trees, as the Douglas fir, resembling the spruces

Etymology: ME Spruce, for Pruce, Prussia < OFr < ML Prussia: prob. because the tree was first known as a native of Prussia

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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