WITCH HAZEL


Meaning of WITCH HAZEL in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈwich-ˌhā-zəl ]

noun

Etymology: witch, a tree with pliant branches, from Middle English wyche, from Old English wice; probably akin to Old English wīcan to yield — more at weak

Date: circa 1760

1. : any of a genus ( Hamamelis of the family Hamamelidaceae, the witch-hazel family) of shrubs or small trees with slender-petaled usually yellow flowers borne in late fall or early spring ; especially : one ( H. virginiana ) of eastern North America that blooms in the fall

2. : an alcoholic solution of a distillate of the bark of a witch hazel ( H. virginiana ) used as a soothing and mildly astringent lotion

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.