From Middle English Spruce, an alteration of Pruce (“Prussia”), from Medieval Latin, from a Baltic language, probably Old Prussian; for more, see Prussia. Spruce, spruse (1412), and Sprws (1378) were terms for commodities brought to England by Hanseatic merchants (beer, wood, leather). The tree with this name was also believed to have been native to Prussia. The adjective and verb senses ("trim, neat" and "to make trim, neat") are attested from 1594, and originate with spruce leather (1466), which was used to make a popular style of jerkins in the 1400s that was considered smart-looking.
Meanings
(comparable) Smart, trim, and elegant in appearance; fastidious (said of a person).
[A] baker's boy in a white apron and blue jumpers went by carrying a basket of bread on his head; and from the nearby tobacconist's, a spruce young lieutenant dressed in a black uniform emerged lighting a cigarette. 1916, Henry Beston, A Volunteer Poilu:
A spruce young lieutenant came over, saluted and clambered into the back of our jeep, and we were off. 1952, Norman Lewis, Golden Earth:
Hovv often vvould the Svvaines prepare their Morrice & their May / To haue a ſight of her, vvhen all enamoured vvent their vvay? / The ſprevvſeſt Citie-Lads for her vvould faine the Countrie-aire, / And that their prouder Girles had but adultrate beauties ſvvaire, […] 1606, William Warner, “The Sixteenth Booke. Chapter CI.”, in A Continuance of Albions England: […], London: […] Felix Kyngston [and Richard Bradock?] for George Potter, […], →OCLC, page 399:
The two clean rooms, where chips are made, are sprucer than a hospital theatre. 2012 October 13, “Plessey returns: Chips with everything”, in The Economist, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 Oct 2012:
He had great neatness of person, and he continued to wear his spruce black coat and his bowler hat, always a little too small for him, in a dapper, jaunty manner. 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XXXI, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
bg издокаран (smart and elegant) · ga pioctha (smart and elegant) · et ontlik (smart and elegant) · sv stilig (smart and elegant) · sv elegant (smart and elegant) · fi tyylikäs (smart and elegant) · et sihvakas (smart and elegant) · ru щеголева́тый (smart and elegant) · pl elegancki (smart and elegant) · ga breabhsánta (smart and elegant) · sv flott (smart and elegant) · et siivas (smart and elegant) · ru изя́щный (smart and elegant) · bg спретнат (smart and elegant) · ru наря́дный (smart and elegant) · et viks (smart and elegant) · ru элега́нтный (smart and elegant) · et krann (smart and elegant)
From Middle English Spruce, an alteration of Pruce (“Prussia”), from Medieval Latin, from a Baltic language, probably Old Prussian; for more, see Prussia. Spruce, spruse (1412), and Sprws (1378) were terms for commodities brought to England by Hanseatic merchants (beer, wood, leather). The tree with this name was also believed to have been native to Prussia. The adjective and verb senses ("trim, neat" and "to make trim, neat") are attested from 1594, and originate with spruce leather (1466), which was used to make a popular style of jerkins in the 1400s that was considered smart-looking.
Meanings
(countable, uncountable) Any of various large coniferous evergreen trees or shrubs from the genus Picea, found in northern temperate and boreal regions; originally and more fully spruce fir.
(uncountable) The wood of a spruce.
(attributive, countable, uncountable) Made of the wood of the spruce.
nn gran (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · cs smrkový (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · sh omorika (tree from the genus Picea) · lmo pighéra (tree from the genus Picea) · pt pícea (wood of a spruce) · gwi ts'iivii (tree from the genus Picea) · pl świerk (tree from the genus Picea) · ia picea (tree from the genus Picea) · lb Fiichten (tree from the genus Picea) · sv gran (wood of a spruce) · pl świerk (wood of a spruce) · sv gran- (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · da granbrænde (firewood) (wood of a spruce) · kmr kaj (tree from the genus Picea) · mk смрча (tree from the genus Picea) · he אשוחית (tree from the genus Picea) · pl świerkowy (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · eo piceo (tree from the genus Picea) · kjh тіген (tree from the genus Picea) · pms sapin (tree from the genus Picea) · hu lucfenyő (tree from the genus Picea) · ga sprús (tree from the genus Picea) · la picea (tree from the genus Picea) · tt терке (tree from the genus Picea) · is greni- (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · myv куз (tree from the genus Picea) · et kuusk (tree from the genus Picea) · pt abeto vermelho (wood of a spruce) · pt pícea (tree from the genus Picea) · csb dana (tree from the genus Picea) · atv чыбы (tree from the genus Picea) · kl orpiliassaq (tree from the genus Picea) · vi vân sam (tree from the genus Picea) · es pícea (tree from the genus Picea) · ru ело́вый (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · qu pisya (tree from the genus Picea) · it peccio (tree from the genus Picea) · lmo peghéra (tree from the genus Picea) · io abieto (tree from the genus Picea) · sh smreka (tree from the genus Picea) · pt espruce (tree from the genus Picea) · fi kuusi (wood of a spruce) · xdq ццягь (tree from the genus Picea) · tfn chʼbala (tree from the genus Picea) · chy šéstótó'e (tree from the genus Picea) · haw lāʻau hū (tree from the genus Picea) · hu luc (tree from the genus Picea) · fo grann (tree from the genus Picea) · el ερυθρελάτη (tree from the genus Picea) · et kuusepuit (wood of a spruce) · ltg egle (tree from the genus Picea) · pt abeto vermelho (tree from the genus Picea) · ovd grån (tree from the genus Picea) · hy եղևնի (tree from the genus Picea) · tr ladin (tree from the genus Picea) · ar تَنُّوب (tree from the genus Picea) · se guossa (tree from the genus Picea) · fi kuusipuinen (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · oc picea (tree from the genus Picea) · sq hormoç (tree from the genus Picea) · et kuuse- (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · pdt Fijcht (tree from the genus Picea) · ko 가문비나무 (tree from the genus Picea) · uk яли́на (tree from the genus Picea) · da gran- (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · cy sbriws (tree from the genus Picea) · it abete rosso (tree from the genus Picea) · sgs eglė (tree from the genus Picea) · ba шыршы (tree from the genus Picea) · gd giuthas (tree from the genus Picea) · fi kuusi (tree from the genus Picea) · dsb škrjok (tree from the genus Picea) · cs smrk (wood of a spruce) · sh smrča (tree from the genus Picea) · gl picea (tree from the genus Picea) · hsb šmrěk (tree from the genus Picea) · sv gran (tree from the genus Picea) · sk smrek (tree from the genus Picea) · alt ёлка (tree from the genus Picea) · eu picea (tree from the genus Picea) · ca avet roig (tree from the genus Picea) · fr épinette (tree from the genus Picea) · li sjpar (tree from the genus Picea) · nl sparrenhout (wood of a spruce) · be ёлка (tree from the genus Picea) · ka ნაძვი (tree from the genus Picea) · fo grann (wood of a spruce) · ru ёлка (tree from the genus Picea) · is grön (tree from the genus Picea) · nl spar (wood of a spruce) · az küknar (tree from the genus Picea) · uk яли́ця (tree from the genus Picea) · udm кыз (tree from the genus Picea) · nv chʼó (tree from the genus Picea) · sjd кӯсс (tree from the genus Picea) · ky ёлка (tree from the genus Picea) · de Fichte (tree from the genus Picea) · sq bredhi i zi (tree from the genus Picea) · lt eglė (tree from the genus Picea) · gd giuthas (wood of a spruce) · tt еш (tree from the genus Picea) · nn gran (wood of a spruce) · et kuuskne (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · nb gran (wood of a spruce) · sl smreka (tree from the genus Picea) · nb gran (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · cs smrk (tree from the genus Picea) · fur peç (tree from the genus Picea) · ro molid (tree from the genus Picea) · tyv шиви (tree from the genus Picea) · da gran (tree from the genus Picea) · ru ель (wood of a spruce) · ja 唐檜 (tree from the genus Picea) · de Fichtenholz (wood of a spruce) · ab аԥсаӡ (tree from the genus Picea) · be ялі́на (tree from the genus Picea) · sh smrȅka (wood of a spruce) · mn ᠭᠠᠴᠤᠷᠠ (tree from the genus Picea) · sah харыйа (tree from the genus Picea) · ik napaaqtuq (tree from the genus Picea) · slr sompa (tree from the genus Picea) · af spar (tree from the genus Picea) · nl spar (tree from the genus Picea) · cmn 雲杉 /云杉 (tree from the genus Picea) · nrf sapîn (tree from the genus Picea) · uk смере́ка (tree from the genus Picea) · lb Fiicht (tree from the genus Picea) · lmo paghéra (tree from the genus Picea) · cv чӑрӑш (tree from the genus Picea) · gsw Fichte (tree from the genus Picea) · is greni (wood of a spruce) · da gran (wood of a spruce) · fo grannviður (wood of a spruce) · nds Fücht (tree from the genus Picea) · nb gran (tree from the genus Picea) · is greni (tree from the genus Picea) · stq Kjuusdanne (tree from the genus Picea) · fi kuusi- (attributive: made of the wood of the spruce) · twf pʼȍkʼúowoną (tree from the genus Picea) · ce база (tree from the genus Picea) · atv шӱбе (tree from the genus Picea) · sw msprusi (tree from the genus Picea) · tt серше (tree from the genus Picea) · nn gran (tree from the genus Picea) · os назты (tree from the genus Picea) · kk шырша (tree from the genus Picea) · bg смърч (tree from the genus Picea) · da grantræ (wood of a spruce) · lv egle (tree from the genus Picea) · sv granträ (wood of a spruce) · wa epiceya (tree from the genus Picea) · ru ель (tree from the genus Picea) · mn гацуур (tree from the genus Picea) · fr épicéa (tree from the genus Picea) · ro molid (wood of a spruce)
From Middle English Spruce, an alteration of Pruce (“Prussia”), from Medieval Latin, from a Baltic language, probably Old Prussian; for more, see Prussia. Spruce, spruse (1412), and Sprws (1378) were terms for commodities brought to England by Hanseatic merchants (beer, wood, leather). The tree with this name was also believed to have been native to Prussia. The adjective and verb senses ("trim, neat" and "to make trim, neat") are attested from 1594, and originate with spruce leather (1466), which was used to make a popular style of jerkins in the 1400s that was considered smart-looking.
Meanings
(usually, with-up) To arrange neatly; tidy up.
(ambitransitive, usually, with-up) To make oneself spruce (neat and elegant in appearance).