willow

Meaning

Noun

1. Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs in the genus Salix, in the willow family Salicaceae, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the northern hemisphere.
2. The wood of these trees.
3. (colloquial) A cricket bat.
4. (slang) The baseball bat.
5. A rotating spiked drum used to open and clean cotton heads.

Verb

1. To open and cleanse (cotton, flax, wool, etc.) by means of a willow.
2. To form a shape or move in a way similar to the long, slender branches of a willow.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈwɪl.əʊ/

Etymology

From Middle English wilwe, welew, variant of wilghe, from Old English welig, from Proto-West Germanic *wilig, from Proto-Germanic *wiligaz, from Proto-Indo-European *welik- (compare (Arcadian) Ancient Greek ἑλίκη (helíkē), Hittite 𒌑𒂖𒆪 (welku, “grass”)), from *wel- (“twist, turn”).