designating a family (Cupressaceae) of conifers including the junipers
Origin of cypress
Middle English cipres from Old French from Ecclesiastical Late Latin cypressus, for Classical Latin cupressus from Classical Greek kyparissos- any of a genus (Cupressus) of evergreen, cone-bearing trees of the cypress family, native to North America, Europe, and Asia, with dark foliage and a distinctive symmetrical form
- any of a number of related trees, including the baldcypress and white cedar
- the wood of any of these trees
- the branches or sprigs of the cypress, used as a symbol of mourning
