See Also: willow(dictionary)
Willow(medicine)
sea willow(medicine)
willow(encyclopedia)
willow(dictionary)
pussy willow(dictionary)
willow herb(encyclopedia)
Willow-weed(medicine)
willow-wort(medicine)
willow-thorn(medicine)

Roller (iou) and willow (iou)


Roller (iou)



Roller noun3. colloq. L20.
[from ROLL(S-ROYCE + -ER6.]
A car made by Rolls-Royce.

willow (iou)



willow noun, adjective, & verb.

A. noun.
Any of various shrubs and small trees of the genus Salix, chiefly of north temperate regions, which bear inconspicuous flowers in catkins and are typically plants of streamsides with pliant branches and long narrow leaves. OE.
crack-willow, goat-willow, grey willow, weeping willow, white willow, etc.
b. The timber or flexible shoots of the willow, often used for cricket-bats, baskets, etc.; fig. a flexible or compliant person. L15.
c. A branch or the leaves of the willow as a symbol of grief for unrequited love or the loss of a loved one. Freq. in wear the willow, wear willow, wear the willow garland, wear the green willow, grieve for the loss of a loved one, be in mourning. arch. L16.
d. A pale green shade or tint of the colour of willow leaves. Also more fully willow-green. L19.
= WILLY noun1 2. LME-M16.
Any of various plants resembling a willow in some way, esp. in having flexible branches or long narrow leaves; esp. (more fully native willow) the couba, Acacia salicina. Usu. with specifying word. M16.
flowering willow a desert shrub of south-western N. America, Chilopsis linearis (family Bignoniaceae), with willow-like leaves and white flowers.
= WILLY noun1 3. M19.
A cricket-bat. Cf. King Willow s.v. KING noun. M19.
b. attrib. or as adjective.
Made of, decorated with, or resembling the wood or leaves of the willow; resembling the willow, willowy. L15.
Made of willow-pattern porcelain etc. E20.
Comb. & special collocations: willow Beauty a European geometrid moth, Peribatodes rhomboidaria, that is greyish with dark speckling; willow beetle (a) the osier weevil, Cryptorhynchus lapathi; (b) = willow leaf beetle below; willow borer (a) the larva of the osier weevil, Cryptorhynchus lapathi, which is a pest of willows; (b) a large longhorn beetle, Saperda carcharias, whose larvae bore into the wood of willows and poplars; willow gentian a European gentian, Gentiana asclepiadea, with deep blue flowers, curving stems, and willow-like leaves; willow-green: see sense A.1d above; willow grouse (a) a grouse of northern Eurasia and Canada, Lagopus lagopus, which turns white in winter and is conspecific with the British red grouse; (b) Canad. the ruffed grouse, Bonasa umbellus; willowherb (a) (more fully yellow willowherb) yellow loosestrife, Lysimachia vulgaris; (b) any of numerous plants constituting the genus Epilobium (family Onagraceae), with pink flowers of various shades and opposite freq. lanceolate or narrow leaves; esp. (more fully great hairy willowherb) E. hirsutum, a plant of streamsides with cherry-coloured flowers and usu. softly hairy leaves; (rosebay willowherb: see rosebay (b) s.v. ROSE noun); willow leaf (a) a leaf of the willow; (b) a design or shape resembling this; willow leaf beetle any of various chrysomelid beetles that feed on willow leaves, esp. of the genera Phyllodecta and Galerucella, and (N. Amer.) of the genus Chrysomela; willow-leaved adjective having long narrow leaves; willow myrtle any of several western Australian trees constituting the genus Agonis, of the myrtle family, with willow-like leaves; willow oak an oak of the eastern US, Quercus phellos, having narrow entire leaves like those of a willow; willow-pattern noun & adjective (designating porcelain etc. having) a conventional design representing a Chinese scene, often with a willow tree, of blue on white porcelain, stoneware, or earthenware; willow ptarmigan (chiefly N. Amer.) = willow grouse (a) above; willow tit a Eurasian tit, Parus montanus, which has a sooty black cap; willow tree = sense A.1 above; willow warbler (a) a small Eurasian leaf warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus; (b) any of various related warblers found mainly in Asia; willow-ware (a) porcelain, earthenware, or stoneware with a willow-pattern design; (b) articles woven from osiers; willow weed (a) = willowherb (a) above; (b) any of several persicarias with willow-like leaves, esp. redshank, Persicaria maculosa; willow-wren = willow warbler (a) above.
C. verb trans. Treat (cotton etc.) with a willow or willy (WILLY noun1 3). rare. M19.
willowed adjective (rare) bordered or grown with willows M18.
willow-like adjective resembling (that of) a willow E18.
willowish adjective (a) resembling that of a willow, esp. with regard to the colour of willow-leaves; (b) rare like a willow; fig. pliant: M17.