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tree

(trē)

a. A perennial woody plant having a main trunk and usually a distinct crown.

b. An herbaceous plant or shrub resembling a tree in form or size.

a. Something that resembles a tree in form, especially a diagram or arrangement that has branches showing relationships of hierarchy or lineage.

b. Computers A structure for organizing or classifying data in which every item can be traced to a single origin through a unique path.

a. A wooden beam, post, stake, or bar used as part of a framework or structure.

b. A saddletree.

4. Archaic

a. A gallows.

b. The cross on which Jesus was crucified.

tr.v. treed, tree·ing, trees

1. To force up a tree: Dogs treed the raccoon.

2. Informal To force into a difficult position; corner: the reporters finally treed the mayor.

3. To supply or cover with trees: a hillside that is treed with oaks.

Idiom:

up a treeInformal

In a situation of great difficulty or perplexity; helpless.

[Middle English, from Old English trēow; see deru- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

treeless adj.

Tree

(trē), Sir Herbert Beerbohm 1853-1917.

British actor and producer who founded the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1904).

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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