n.
Pronunciation: ' yü
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English ew, from Old English ī w; akin to Old High German ī wa yew, Middle Irish eó
Date: before 12th century
1 a : any of a genus ( Taxus of the family Taxaceae, the yew family) of evergreen gymnospermous trees and shrubs with stiff linear leaves and seeds surrounded by a fleshy red aril: as (1) : a long-lived Eurasian tree or shrub ( T. baccata ) ― called also English yew (2) : a low straggling bush ( T. canadensis ) of the eastern U.S. and Canada (3) : PACIFIC YEW b : the wood of a yew especially : the heavy fine-grained wood of the English yew
2 archaic : an archery bow made of yew
yew