arborvitae

[ ahr-ber-vahy-tee ]
/ ˌɑr bərˈvaɪ ti /

noun

any of several ornamental or timber-producing evergreen trees belonging to the genus Thuja, of the cypress family, native to North America and eastern Asia, having a scaly bark and scalelike leaves on branchlets.
Anatomy. arbor vitae.

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a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides.
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Origin of arborvitae

1655–65 for def. 1; 1790–1800 for def. 2; <Latin: tree of life

Words nearby arborvitae

arborist, Arborite, arborization, arborize, arborous, arborvitae, arbour, arbovirus, Arbroath, arbtrn., Arbus

Definition for arborvitae (2 of 2)

arbor vitae
[ ahr-ber -vahy-tee ]
/ ˈɑr bər ˈvaɪ ti /

noun Anatomy.

a treelike appearance in a vertical section of the cerebellum, due to the arrangement of the white and gray nerve tissues.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for arborvitae

arbor vitae
/ (ˈɑːbɔː ˈviːtaɪ, ˈvaɪtiː) /

noun

any of several Asian and North American evergreen coniferous trees of the genera Thuja and Thujopsis, esp Thuja occidentalis, having tiny scalelike leaves and egglike conesSee also red cedar

Word Origin for arbor vitae

C17: from New Latin, literally: tree of life
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