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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

bois d'arc en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈbwaˌdɑɹk/ (General-American)
  • /ˈboʊˌdɑɹk/ (General-American)

Etymology

Borrowed from French bois d'arc (“bow wood”). So called because it was used for bows by the Indians of western North America.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) An Osage orange tree, of species Maclura pomifera, or wood of this tree.
    • Eliza liked to be able to get up from her bed or the little chair from her former apartment and climb the two steps into the bluecarpeted livingroom and be able to see the bois d’arcs standing sturdily along the line of the front walk. 1987, Terry, Marshall, Ringer, Corona Pub. Co., page 227:
    • We carried the big ohapuupi seeds with us, planting them anywhere they might grow, and as this had been done by the various tribes for hundreds or maybe thousands of years, bois d'arc trees were found all along the plains. 2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 107:
    • The bois d'arc seems to be the characteristic growth of the black prairies. 1880, US Census, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
bois d'arcs Number=Plur lexicographic

Synonyms

bodark · bow-wood · bo'dark