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cypress¹ Definition

cy·press (prəs)

adjective

designating a family (Cupressaceae) of conifers including the junipers

Etymology: ME cipres < OFr < LL(Ec) cypressus, for L cupressus < Gr kyparissos

noun

  1. 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
  2. any of a number of related trees, including the baldcypress and white cedar
  3. the wood of any of these trees
  4. the branches or sprigs of the cypress, used as a symbol of mourning

cypress² Definition

cy·press (prəs)

noun

any of various textile fabrics, originally made in Cyprus; specif., a fine, gauzelike lawn or silk: in black, it was often worn for mourning

Etymology: ME cipres, after OFr Cipre, Cyprus

cypress Usage Examples

Converse of subject

  • surround: The abbey is set on a solitary hilltop surrounded by cypresses with splendid views over the imposing outcrops of the Crete Senesi.
  • replace: These threats to agriculture are replaced by cypress and myrtle, symbols of God's powerful transformation of the wilderness.

Converse of object

  • swamp: The alluvial flood plains in the Gulf region and the south east suited pines and swamp cypress.
  • include: The trees at this altitude include cypresses and maples.

Adjective modifier

  • bald: Bald cypress live IN water, so overwatering is not the problem.
  • tall: Clever garden design and tall cypresses keep out the paparazzi.
  • Italian: An imported Italian cypress has now been planted here, but not without problems, caused by the local climate.
  • false: Prune the branches of juniper and false cypress at the branch crotch of a new branch.
  • Japanese: At the Photokina exhibition in Germany, Olympus recently wowed everyone with a Japanese cypress encased camera.

Modifies a noun

  • grove: East of a hill there stands a cypress grove and her hut lies close to it.
  • tree: Deer couple among the cypress trees of the mountain range.
  • hedge: A cypress hedge cleverly positioned on one edge of the terrace, meanwhile, screens the homes opposite.
  • wood: The leading characters wear painted masks carved of cypress wood, which form a spiritual focus for the performance.
  • conifer: My neighbor has Leylandii ( cypress conifer ) trees along our boundary and he/she will not reduce their height, what can I do?
  • forest: En route, be sure to admire the olive and lemon groves, cypress forests and vineyards of the region.

Noun used with modifier

  • leyland: By far the commonest species are the ubiquitous lawson and leyland cypress trees which are often grown as a hedge or a screen.
  • swamp: The grass slopes either side of the stream have scattered trees, including a mulberry, tulip trees and a swamp cypress.
cypress Quotes

He lies below, correct in cypress wood, And entertains the most exclusive worms.

—Parker, Dorothy ne¤  e Rothschild

The Minister said it wald dee, the cypress-buss I plantit. But the buss grew til a tree, naething dauntit. It's growan, stark and heich, derk and straucht and sinister, kirkyairdielike and dreich. But whaur's the Minister?

—Young, Douglas

The sailing pine, the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry, The builder oak, sole king of forests all, The aspen good for staves, the cypress funeral. The laurel, meed of mighty conquerors And poets sage, the fir that weepeth still, The willow worn of forlorn paramours, The ewe obedient to the benders will, The birch for shafts, the sallow for the mill, The myrrh sweet bleeding in the bitter wound, The warlike beech, the ash for nothing ill, The fruitful olive, and the platan round, The carver holme, the maple seldom inward sound.

—Spenser, Edmund

Now sleeps the crimson petal, now the white; Nor waves the cypress in the palace walk; Nor winks the gold fin in the porphyry font: The fire-fly wakens: waken thou, with me. Now droops the milk-white peacock like a ghost, And like a ghost she glimmers on to me. Now lies the Earth all Dana' to the stars, 842 And all thy heart lies open unto me. Now slides the silent meteor on, and leaves A shining furrow, as thy thoughts in me. Now folds the lily all her sweetness up, And slips into the bosom of the lake: So fold thyself, my dearest, thou, and slip Into my bosom and be lost in me.

—Tennyson

Browse dictionary entries near cypress

  1. Cypherpunks
  2. cypher
  3. CYO
  4. Cynthia
  5. cynosure
  6. cynicism
  7. cynical
  8. cynic
  9. Cymry
  10. Cymric
  1. cypress vine
  2. Cyprian
  3. cyprinodont
  4. cyprinoid
  5. Cypriot
  6. cypripedium
  7. Cyprus
  8. cypsela
  9. Cyrano de Bergerac
  10. Cyrenaic