From Middle English ew, from Old English īw, ēow, [both cognates of Welsh yw (“yews”), Irish eo, Old Irish eó respectively]; although the Old English form was conjectured to be from Proto-West Germanic *īhu, from Proto-Germanic *īhwaz (compare Icelandic ýr), masculine variant of *īwō (compare Dutch ijf, German Eibe), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyHw-.
See also Hittite 𒄑𒂊𒅀𒀭 (eyan, “type of evergreen”), Latgalian īva (“bird cherry”), Lithuanian ievà (“bird cherry”), Russian и́ва (íva, “willow”).
Compare typologically Ancient Greek τόξον (tóxon), possibly a cognate of Latin taxus.
Meanings
(not-comparable) Made from the wood of the yew tree.
bg тисов (made from the wood of the yew tree) · de eiben (made from the wood of the yew tree) · fi marjakuusinen (made from the wood of the yew tree) · fi marjakuusesta (made from the wood of the yew tree) · ru ти́совый (made from the wood of the yew tree) · pl cisowy (made from the wood of the yew tree)
From Middle English ew, from Old English īw, ēow, [both cognates of Welsh yw (“yews”), Irish eo, Old Irish eó respectively]; although the Old English form was conjectured to be from Proto-West Germanic *īhu, from Proto-Germanic *īhwaz (compare Icelandic ýr), masculine variant of *īwō (compare Dutch ijf, German Eibe), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyHw-.
See also Hittite 𒄑𒂊𒅀𒀭 (eyan, “type of evergreen”), Latgalian īva (“bird cherry”), Lithuanian ievà (“bird cherry”), Russian и́ва (íva, “willow”).
Compare typologically Ancient Greek τόξον (tóxon), possibly a cognate of Latin taxus.
Meanings
(countable) A species of coniferous tree, Taxus baccata, with dark-green flat needle-like leaves and seeds bearing red arils, native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia.
Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper. 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 273:
Old Yew, which graspest at the stones
That name the under-lying dead,
Thy fibres net the dreamless head,
Thy roots are wrapt about the bones. 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto II”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
At Darley Dale, in Derbyshire, there is another yew about 1,000 years younger with a 32 ft girth, while a mighty yew at Goudhurst, Kent, has a bench seating 12 in its hollow trunk. 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 119:
(broadly, countable) Any tree or shrub of the genus Taxus.
(countable, uncountable) Other conifers resembling plants in genus Taxus: ▸ in family Podocarpaceae.
(countable, uncountable) Other conifers resembling plants in genus Taxus: ▸ in family Cephalotaxaceae.
(uncountable) The wood of such trees.
English soldiers handled sturdy bows of yew, ash, or elm, which could propel an iron-tipped arrow as far as a hundred yards. 1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 155:
To prevent a too great conſumption of yew, bowyers were directed to make four bows of witch-haſel, aſh or elm, to one of yew, and no perſon under ſeventeen years of age, unleſs poſſeſſed of moveables worth forty marks, or the ſon of parents having an eſtate of ten pounds per annum might ſhoot in an yew bow, under a penalty of 6s. 8d. 1786, Francis Grose, “Of Offensive Arms, or Weapons”, in A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, […], London: […] S. Hooper, […], →OCLC, pages 37–38:
(countable, uncountable) A bow for archery, made of yew wood.
sh tȉsa (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · hu tiszafa (wood of the yew) · ja イチイ (wood of the yew) · pl cis (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · fro iv (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · nds-de Ievenboom (Taxus baccata) · ru тис (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ja イチイ (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · fa سرخدار (Taxus baccata) · ca teix (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · es tejo (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · la taxus (Taxus baccata) · cmn 紫杉 (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ca teixeda (wood of the yew) · cs tis (Taxus baccata) · grc σμῖλαξ (Taxus baccata) · sv idegran (wood of the yew) · de Eibe (Taxus baccata) · ar زَرْنَب (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · gmq-gut äidigrän (Taxus baccata) · nds-de Iev (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · lt kukmedis (Taxus baccata) · ja 櫟 (wood of the yew) · fo taks (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · nl taxusboom (Taxus baccata) · cmn 歐洲紫杉 /欧洲紫杉 (Taxus baccata) · fi marjakuusi (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · pt teixo (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · et jugapuu (wood of the yew) · ar زَرْنَب (Taxus baccata) · nl venijnboom (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · sl tisa (Taxus baccata) · ar طَخْش (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ro tisă (wood of the yew) · da taks (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · pt teixo (wood of the yew) · ko 주목속 (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · cim aiba (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · fr if (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ga crann iúir (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · pl cis (Taxus baccata) · it tasso (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · gd iubhar (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · nds-de Iev (Taxus baccata) · ru тис (Taxus baccata) · uk тис (wood of the yew) · bg тис (Taxus baccata) · gl teixo (Taxus baccata) · nb barlind (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · sv idegran (Taxus baccata) · et jugapuu (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ca teix (Taxus baccata) · non ýr (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · cmn 紅豆杉 /红豆杉 (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · an teix (Taxus baccata) · nah tekosantli (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · eu hagin (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · da taks (Taxus baccata) · oc teis (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · kw ywin (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · oc tueis (Taxus baccata) · sq bërshen (Taxus baccata) · fi marjakuusi (wood of the yew) · lzz ანკრა (Taxus baccata) · ro tisă (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · sq enjë (Taxus baccata) · eu hagina (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ast texu (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ja 櫟 (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · kw ewinen (Taxus baccata) · ja 一位 (Taxus baccata) · it tasso (wood of the yew) · tr porsuk ağacı (wood of the yew) · es tejo (wood of the yew) · is ýviður (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · fo takstræ (Taxus baccata) · ga iúr (wood of the yew) · an teix (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · tr porsuk (Taxus baccata) · hy կենի (Taxus baccata) · el τάξος (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · nn barlind (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ar طَخْش (Taxus baccata) · gl teixoeira (Taxus baccata) · nds-de Ievenboom (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ru тис (wood of the yew) · nah pesojtli (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · uk тис (Taxus baccata) · rm taisch (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · pt teixo (Taxus baccata) · gd iubhar (wood of the yew) · nds-de Ief (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · de Eibe (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ja 櫟 (Taxus baccata) · nn barlind (Taxus baccata) · it tasso (Taxus baccata) · vo taxud (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · nl taxus (Taxus baccata) · cs tis (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · sh ти̏са (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ja 一位 (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · cy yw (Taxus baccata) · da takstræ (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · gl teixo (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ka ურთხელი (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · pl cis (wood of the yew) · tl teho (Taxus baccata) · sh tȉsa (Taxus baccata) · cy yw (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · nl ijf (Taxus baccata) · ka ურთხელი (Taxus baccata) · io taxuso (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · fi marjakuusi (Taxus baccata) · lt kukmedis (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · nl venijnboom (Taxus baccata) · et jugapuu (Taxus baccata) · vo taxud (Taxus baccata) · eo taksuso (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · ang īw (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · gl teixoeira (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · nrf if (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · nb barlind (Taxus baccata) · sv idegransträ (wood of the yew) · ja イチイ (Taxus baccata) · is ýviður (Taxus baccata) · br ivin (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · sv idegran (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · sh ти̏са (Taxus baccata) · goh īwa (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · gl teixoramo (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · la taxus (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · nl taxushout (wood of the yew) · sl tisa (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · sk tis (Taxus baccata) · lv īve (Taxus baccata) · grc τάξος (Taxus baccata) · cy yw (wood of the yew) · es tejo (Taxus baccata) · ga iúr (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · hu tiszafa (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · hy գեղձի (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · da takstræ (wood of the yew) · de Eibenholz (wood of the yew) · ja 一位 (wood of the yew) · hu tiszafa (Taxus baccata) · ro tisă (Taxus baccata) · el ίταμος (Taxus baccata) · lv īve (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · fi euroopanmarjakuusi (Taxus baccata) · fro ivo (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · eo taksuso (Taxus baccata) · tr porsuk ağacı (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · br ivin (Taxus baccata) · ga iúr (Taxus baccata) · uk тис (tree or shrub of the genus Taxus) · fr if (Taxus baccata)
yew en · PRON · etymology 2
Meanings
(alt-of, pronunciation-spelling) Eye dialect spelling of you.
A spinoff, “Major Crimes,” starring “Battlestar Galactica” veteran Mary McDonnell and a number of “Closer” cast members, premieres in August. Sedgwick won’t be among them, swapping Brenda’s syrupy “thank yew” for an upbeat “buh-bye now” to her co-workers. 2012 July 1, T.L. Stanley, “No more crimes for her to solve”, in Los Angeles Times: