/wohd"wak'seuhn/ , n.
an ornamental Eurasian shrub, Genista tinctoria, whose flowers yield a yellow dye formerly used with woad to make a permanent green dye.
Also, woodwaxen . Also called dyer's-broom, dyer's greenweed, dyer's greenwood .
[ 1325-75; ME wodewaxen, equiv. to wode WOOD 1 + waxen grown (ptp. of waxen to WAX 2 ); r. ME wodewax, OE wuduweax ]