Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com

pussy willow

American  
[poos-ee] / ˈpʊs i /

noun

  1. a small willow, Salix discolor, of eastern North America, having silky catkins.

  2. any of various similar willows.

pussy willow British  
/ ˈpʊsɪ /

noun

  1. a willow tree that produces silvery silky catkins, esp Salix caprea or S. cinerea in Britain or S. discolor in North America

  2. any of various similar willows

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pussy willow

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.