Yew (ū), a.
Of or pertaining to yew trees; made of the wood of a yew tree; as,
a yew whipstock.
Yew , n. [OE. ew, AS. eów, īw, eoh; akin to D. ijf, OHG.
īwa, īha, G. eibe, Icel. &ymacr;r;
cf. Ir. iubhar, Gael.
iubhar, iughar, W. yw, ywen,
Lith. jëva the black alder tree.]
1. (Bot.) An evergreen tree (Taxus baccata) of
Europe, allied to the pines, but having a peculiar berrylike fruit instead of a
cone. It frequently grows in British churchyards.
2.
The wood of the yew. It is light red in color,
compact, fine-grained, and very elastic. It is preferred to
all other kinds of wood for
bows and whipstocks, the best for these purposes coming from Spain.
&fist; The American yew (Taxus baccata, var. Canadensis) is a low and straggling or prostrate bush, never forming an erect trunk. The California yew (Taxus
brevifolia) is a good-sized tree, and its
wood is used for bows, spear handles, paddles,
and other similar implements. Another
yew is found in Florida, and there are
species in Japan and the
Himalayas.
3. A bow for shooting, made of the yew.
Yew (ū), v. i. See Yaw.
Hear it pronounced