tree

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Origin: OE. tree, tre, treo, AS. treó, treów, tree, wood; akin to OFries. trē, OS. treo, trio, Icel. trē, Dan. trae, Sw. trä, träd, Goth. triu, Russ. drevo, W. derw an oak, Ir. darag, darog, Gr. δρῦς a tree, oak, δόρυ a beam, spear shaft, spear, Skr. dru tree, wood, dāru wood. √63, 241. Cf. Dryad, Germander, Tar, noun, Trough.

1. Botany Any perennial woody plant of considerable size (usually over twenty feet high) and growing with a single trunk.

☞ The kind of tree referred to, in any particular case, is often indicated by a modifying word; as forest tree, fruit tree, palm tree, apple tree, pear tree, etc.

2. Something constructed in the form of, or considered as resembling, a tree, consisting of a stem, or stock, and branches; as, a genealogical tree.

3. A piece of timber, or something commonly made of timber; — used in composition, as in axletree, boottree, chesstree, crosstree, whiffletree, and the like.

4. A cross or gallows; as Tyburn tree.

[Jesus] whom they slew and hanged on a tree.— Acts x. 39.

5. Wood; timber. obsolete Geoffrey Chaucer

In a great house ben not only vessels of gold and of silver but also of tree and of earth.— Wyclif (2 Tim. ii. 20).

6. Chemistry A mass of crystals, aggregated in arborescent forms, obtained by precipitation of a metal from solution. See Lead tree, under Lead.

Tree bear Zoology, the raccoon. regional (US) — Tree beetle Zoology any one of numerous species of beetles which feed on the leaves of trees and shrubs, as the May beetles, the rose beetle, the rose chafer, and the goldsmith beetle. — Tree bug Zoology, any one of numerous species of hemipterous insects which live upon, and suck the sap of, trees and shrubs. They belong to Arma, Pentatoma, Rhaphigaster, and allied genera. — Tree cat Zoology, the common paradoxure (Paradoxurus musang). — Tree clover Botany, a tall kind of melilot (Melilotus alba). See Melilot. — Tree crab Zoology, the purse crab. See under Purse. — Tree creeper Zoology, any one of numerous species of arboreal creepers belonging to Certhia, Climacteris, and allied genera. See Creeper, 3. — Tree cricket Zoology, a nearly white arboreal American cricket (Ecanthus nivœus) which is noted for its loud stridulation; — called also white cricket. — Tree crow Zoology, any one of several species of Old World crows belonging to Crypsirhina and allied genera, intermediate between the true crows and the jays. The tail is long, and the bill is curved and without a tooth. — Tree dove Zoology any one of several species of East Indian and Asiatic doves belonging to Macropygia and allied genera. They have long and broad tails, are chiefly arboreal in their habits, and feed mainly on fruit. — Tree duck Zoology, any one of several species of ducks belonging to Dendrocygna and allied genera. These ducks have a long and slender neck and a long hind toe. They are arboreal in their habits, and are found in the tropical parts of America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. — Tree fern Botany, an arborescent fern having a straight trunk, sometimes twenty or twenty-five feet high, or even higher, and bearing a cluster of fronds at the top. Most of the existing species are tropical. — Tree fish Zoology, a California market fish (Sebastichthys serriceps). — Tree frog. Zoology (a) Same as Tree toad. (b) Any one of numerous species of Old World frogs belonging to Chiromantis, Rhacophorus, and allied genera of the family Ranidae. Their toes are furnished with suckers for adhesion. The flying frog (see under Flying) is an example. — Tree goose Zoology, the bernicle goose. — Tree hopper Zoology, any one of numerous species of small leaping hemipterous insects which live chiefly on the branches and twigs of trees, and injure them by sucking the sap. Many of them are very odd in shape, the prothorax being often prolonged upward or forward in the form of a spine or crest. — Tree jobber Zoology, a woodpecker. obsolete — Tree kangaroo. Zoology See Kangaroo. — Tree lark Zoology, the tree pipit. dialect (England) — Tree lizard Zoology, any one of a group of Old World arboreal lizards (formerly grouped as the Dendrosauria) comprising the chameleons; also applied to various lizards belonging to the families Agamidae or Iguanidae, especially those of the genus Urosaurus, such as the lined tree lizard (Urosaurus ornatus) of the southwestern U.S. — Tree lobster. Zoology Same as Tree crab, above. — Tree louse Zoology, any aphid; a plant louse. — Tree moss. Botany (a) Any moss or lichen growing on trees. (b) Any species of moss in the form of a miniature tree. — Tree mouse Zoology, any one of several species of African mice of the subfamily Dendromyinae. They have long claws and habitually live in trees. — Tree nymph, a wood nymph. See Dryad. — Tree of a saddle, a saddle frame. — Tree of heaven Botany, an ornamental tree (Ailantus glandulosus) having long, handsome pinnate leaves, and greenish flowers of a disagreeable odor. — Tree of life Botany, a tree of the genus Thuja; arbor vitae. — Tree onion Botany, a species of garlic (Allium proliferum) which produces bulbs in place of flowers, or among its flowers. — Tree oyster Zoology, a small American oyster (Ostrea folium) which adheres to the roots of the mangrove tree; — called also raccoon oyster. — Tree pie Zoology, any species of Asiatic birds of the genus Dendrocitta. The tree pies are allied to the magpie. — Tree pigeon Zoology, any one of numerous species of longwinged arboreal pigeons native of Asia, Africa, and Australia, and belonging to Megaloprepia, Carpophaga, and allied genera. — Tree pipit. Zoology See under Pipit. — Tree porcupine Zoology, any one of several species of Central and South American arboreal porcupines belonging to the genera Chaetomys and Sphingurus. They have an elongated and somewhat prehensile tail, only four toes on the hind feet, and a body covered with short spines mixed with bristles. One South American species (Sphingurus villosus) is called also couiy; another (Sphingurus prehensilis) is called also cœndou. — Tree rat Zoology, any one of several species of large ratlike West Indian rodents belonging to the genera Capromys and Plagiodon. They are allied to the porcupines. — Tree serpent Zoology, a tree snake. — Tree shrike Zoology, a bush shrike. — Tree snake Zoology, any one of numerous species of snakes of the genus Dendrophis. They live chiefly among the branches of trees, and are not venomous. — Tree sorrel Botany, a kind of sorrel (Rumex Lunaria) which attains the stature of a small tree, and bears greenish flowers. It is found in the Canary Islands and Tenerife. — Tree sparrow Zoology any one of several species of small arboreal sparrows, especially the American tree sparrow (Spizella monticola), and the common European species (Passer montanus). — Tree swallow Zoology, any one of several species of swallows of the genus Hylochelidon which lay their eggs in holes in dead trees. They inhabit Australia and adjacent regions. Called also martin in Australia. — Tree swift Zoology, any one of several species of swifts of the genus Dendrochelidon which inhabit the East Indies and Southern Asia. — Tree tiger Zoology, a leopard. — Tree toad Zoology, any one of numerous species of amphibians belonging to Hyla and allied genera of the family Hylidae. They are related to the common frogs and toads, but have the tips of the toes expanded into suckers by means of which they cling to the bark and leaves of trees. Only one species (Hyla arborea) is found in Europe, but numerous species occur in America and Australia. The common tree toad of the Northern United States (Hyla versicolor) is noted for the facility with which it changes its colors. Called also tree frog. See also Piping frog, under Piping, and Cricket frog, under Cricket. — Tree warbler Zoology, any one of several species of arboreal warblers belonging to Phylloscopus and allied genera. — Tree wool Botany, a fine fiber obtained from the leaves of pine trees.

1. To drive to a tree; to cause to ascend a tree; as, a dog trees a squirrel. John Burroughs

2. To place upon a tree; to fit with a tree; to stretch upon a tree; as, to tree a boot. See Tree, noun, 3.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing

<mathematics, data> A directed acyclic graph; i.e. a graph wherein there is only one route between any pair of nodes, and there is a notion of "toward top of the tree" (i.e. the root node), and its opposite direction, toward the leaves. A tree with n nodes has n-1 edges.

Although maybe not part of the widest definition of a tree, a common constraint is that no node can have more than one parent. Moreover, for some applications, it is necessary to consider a node's daughter nodes to be an ordered list, instead of merely a set.

As a data structure in computer programs, trees are used in everything from B-trees in databases and file systems, to game trees in game theory, to syntax trees in a human or computer languages.

(1998-11-12)

The Devil's Dictionary

While in yt londe I was carried to see ye Ghogo tree, whereof I had hearde moch talk; but sayynge yt I saw naught remarkabyll in it, ye hed manne of ye villayge where it grewe made answer as followeth: "Ye tree is not nowe in fruite, but in his seasonne you shall see dependynge fr. his braunches all soch as have affroynted ye King his Majesty." And I was furder tolde yt ye worde "Ghogo" sygnifyeth in yr tong ye same as "rapscal" in our owne. _Trauvells in ye Easte_