YEW

noun Etymology: Middle English ew, from Old English īw; akin to Old High German īwa ~, Middle Irish eó Date: before 12th century 1. any of a genus ( Taxus of the family Taxaceae, the ~ family) of evergreen gymnospermous trees and shrubs with stiff linear leaves and seeds surrounded by a fleshy red aril: as, a long-lived Eurasian tree or shrub ( T. baccata ), a low straggling bush ( T. canadensis ) of the eastern United States and Canada, Pacific ~ , the wood of a ~, an archery bow made of ~