Dictionary

Judas tree en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From a European folk belief that Judas Iscariot hanged himself on a tree of this species (the account in the Christian scriptures says he hanged himself, but gives no details).

Meanings

1. A small deciduous tree, Cercis siliquastrum, noted for its prolific display of deep-pink flowers in spring.
   • The Spaniards and Portuguese title the siliquastrum the lovely tree, or tree of love; and we call it Judas tree, from a tradition, that it was the tree Judas hanged himself upon. 1762 June, “The compendious System of Natural History”, in The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure, volume 30, page 297:
   • [The garden] is a tangle of briars and grey sage, and here and there a judas tree in full flower stains the whiteness of the tall planes with its incredible magenta. 1926, Vita Sackville-West, Passenger to Teheran, London: Leonard & Virginia Woolf, Chapter V, II:
   • […] children, drawing water, Looked up and paused to see, Amid the apple branches, A purple Judas tree. 1858, Adelaide Anne Procter, “The Wayside Inn”, in Legends and Lyrics, New York: D. Appleton, page 119:

Forms

Synonyms

European redbud

Translations (54)

fa ارغوان (Cercis siliquastrum) · ar أُرْجُوَان (Cercis siliquastrum) · uk багря́ник європе́йський (Cercis siliquastrum) · cs Jidášův strom (Cercis siliquastrum) · tr erguvan (Cercis siliquastrum) · ru иу́дино де́рево (Cercis siliquastrum) · cs zmarlika Jidášova (Cercis siliquastrum) · bg див рожков (Cercis siliquastrum) · sv judasträd (Cercis siliquastrum) · kmr erxewan (Cercis siliquastrum) · he כְּלִיל הַחֹרֶשׂ (Cercis siliquastrum) · de Judasbaum (Cercis siliquastrum) · sh Јудино дрво (Cercis siliquastrum) · ca arbre de l'amor (Cercis siliquastrum) · chr ᏃᏓᏥ (Cercis siliquastrum) · axm արճուան (Cercis siliquastrum) · hy հուդայածառ (Cercis siliquastrum) · es ciclamor (Cercis siliquastrum) · pt árvore-de-judas (Cercis siliquastrum) · mt ħarrub ta’ Ġuda (Cercis siliquastrum) · fr arbre de Judas (Cercis siliquastrum) · grc σημύδα (Cercis siliquastrum) · mt siġra ta’ Ġuda (Cercis siliquastrum) · cmn 南歐紫荊 /南欧紫荆 (Cercis siliquastrum) · pl judaszowiec wschodni (Cercis siliquastrum) · hy լուսնատերևի (Cercis siliquastrum) · pl judaszowiec południowy (Cercis siliquastrum) · uk багря́ник (Cercis siliquastrum) · fr arbre de Judée (Cercis siliquastrum) · ru багря́нник (Cercis siliquastrum) · sq rrushkuq (Cercis siliquastrum) · ru церцис европе́йский (Cercis siliquastrum) · cs zmarlika luštinatá (Cercis siliquastrum) · sh Judino drvo (Cercis siliquastrum) · ckb ئەرخەوان (Cercis siliquastrum) · es árbol del amor (Cercis siliquastrum) · ko 유럽박태기나무 (Cercis siliquastrum) · es arjorán (Cercis siliquastrum) · hy արճվան (Cercis siliquastrum) · ar شَزْرِيق (Cercis siliquastrum) · hi अरगवान (Cercis siliquastrum) · uk іу́дине де́рево (Cercis siliquastrum) · sh ју̀дић (Cercis siliquastrum) · tr deliboynuz (Cercis siliquastrum) · es algarrobo loco (Cercis siliquastrum) · ar زَمْزَرِيق (Cercis siliquastrum) · hy լսնտորի (Cercis siliquastrum) · sh jùdić (Cercis siliquastrum) · ar خَزْرِيق (Cercis siliquastrum) · es árbol de Judas (Cercis siliquastrum) · pt olaia (Cercis siliquastrum) · ru багря́нник европе́йский (Cercis siliquastrum) · uk церцис європе́йський (Cercis siliquastrum) · el κουτσουπιά (Cercis siliquastrum)