I. ˈgrēn adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English grene, from Old English grēne; akin to Old High German gruoni green, Old Norse grœnn green, Old English grōwan to grow — more at grow
1.
a. : of the color green
green jade
b. : having the color of growing fresh grass or of the emerald
green lawns
2.
a. : having abundant verdure : covered by green growth or foliage : verdant
the hills are low and very beautiful because they are green — John Welman
b. : pleasant and alluring : exceedingly broad and fair
an original scientist turns his feet ruinously into the wide green descent to popular science — Carl Van Doren
c. of a season of the year : characterized by mildness : temperate
a green yule
d. : consisting of green plants, herbs, or vegetables
a green salad
gathered their green cargoes and returned to their rewarding trade — Anne Dorrance
3.
a. : full of life and vigor : youthful
the Fates had ruled that he should reach a green old age — Robert Graves
with his white head and his loneliness he remained young and green at heart — John Galsworthy
b. : strikingly alive : vivid despite the passage of time
my memory of all of them is still green — J.J.Mallon
hard to bring events into sharp and stable focus … while one's emotions about them are still green — Cabell Phillips
4.
a. of a plant : young , fresh , tender
the burro … can subsist equally well on succulent green grasses or dry bark — American Guide Series: Arizona
b. of a fruit or vegetable : not ripened or matured : immature
green apples
5. of a wound : recently incurred : fresh , unhealed
like a green wound at first I felt it not — John Home
6. : marked by a pale or sickly appearance
is green with envy
was scared green
wakes it now to look so green and pale — Shakespeare
7.
a. : not fully processed or treated: as
(1) of coffee : partly raw : raw : not roasted
(2) of meat : freshly killed : not dried or salted
(3) of market fish : as taken from the water : not cleaned
(4) of liquor : not aged
(5) of a bone : not seasoned or dried and often containing marrow
(6) of a hide or pelt : not dressed or tanned
(7) of lumber : freshly sawed : unseasoned
(8) of ceramics : not yet baked in an oven or kiln : not fired
(9) of metal powder : not sintered
b. : not in condition for a particular use: as
(1) of concrete or mortar : not sufficiently hardened
(2) of paper : incompletely seasoned
(3) of an inking roller : freshly cast
(4) of printer's proof : not corrected
c.
(1) of a female fish : not ready to spawn — compare ripe , spent
(2) of a crab : not quite ready to shed
8.
a. : marked by inexperience or immaturity : lacking training, knowledge, or experience
we are beginners and the humblest and greenest of the tribe — John Mason Brown
shipped as a green hand on a vessel — W.J.Ghent
b. : lacking sophistication : unfamiliar with worldly ways : gullible , naïve
wasn't so green as to expect suspicious characters to look suspicious — G.K.Chesterton
c. of a horse : not fully qualified for or experienced in a particular function:
(1) of a workhorse : broken but not trained
(2) of a Thoroughbred : not yet raced for premiums or money or speeded against time
(3) of a hunter : not previously exhibited or hunted
9. obsolete : recently buried
where bloody Tybalt, yet but green in earth, lies festering in his shroud — Shakespeare
10. of hemolytic streptococci : tending to produce green pigment when cultured on blood media
Synonyms: see rude
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English grenen, from Old English grēnian; akin to Old High German gruonēn to become green, Old Norse grœnast; inchoatives from the root of English green (I)
intransitive verb
: to become or grow green
my pea jacket had greened with wear — James Still
in the soft moist air the grass was greening — Dorothy C. Fisher
transitive verb
1. : to make green : cause to acquire a green color
the colors pouring down the balustrade and greening the floor — Richard Llewellyn
white frock … which she had so carelessly greened about the skirt on the damping grass — Thomas Hardy
2. : to make fun of by or as if by a hoax
some witchcraft material which came to my attention seemed so extraordinary that I suspected my friends were greening me — Vance Randolph
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English grene, from grene, adjective
1.
a. : a color whose hue is somewhat less yellow than that of growing fresh grass or of the emerald or is that of the part of the spectrum lying between blue and yellow
b. : the one of the four psychologically primary hues that is evoked in the average normal observer under normal conditions by radiant energy of the wavelength 530 millimicrons
c. : one of the six psychologically primary object colors
2.
a. : clothing or cloth of a green color
b. greens plural : a green uniform
a sergeant of marines, very snappy in his greens — John Dos Passos
3. : green vegetation
new spring green mantled the hills
as
a. greens plural : fresh foliage or leafy parts of plants for use as decoration ; especially : evergreen branches for winter decorations
always collected our own Christmas greens
b. greens plural
(1) : leafy herbs (as spinach, dandelions, Swiss chard) that are boiled or steamed as a vegetable : potherb 1
(2) : a vegetable whose foliage and foliage-bearing branches are the sole or chief edible part : green vegetable
4. : a grassy plain or plot: as
a. : a common or park in the center of a town or village
white clapboard and red brick Georgian homes and churches looking out on the placid village green — Budd Schulberg
b. : bowling green
c. : putting green
d. : an archery shooting range
5. : youthful vigor : virility — usually used in the phrase in the green
thy leaf has perished in the green — Alfred Tennyson
6. : a pigment or dye that colors green
7. : money ; especially : greenbacks
8.
a. : the petticoat of an archery target
b. : a shot that hits in the petticoat
c. : an arrow that misses the target and hits the grass
9. : a card belonging to one of the four suits in the German pack of playing cards and having a leaf as its symbol
IV. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English grenen, probably modification of Old Norse girna — more at yearn
Scotland : yearn , long
I. adjective
1. often capitalized : relating to or being an environmentalist political movement
2. : concerned with or supporting environmentalism ; also : tending to preserve environmental quality (as by being recyclable, biodegradable, or nonpolluting)
II. noun
Usage: often capitalized
: environmentalist 1 herein ; specifically : a member of an activist political party focusing on environmental and social issues