arrowwood

American  

[ar-oh-wood] / ˈær oʊˌwʊd /

noun

1. any of several shrubs or small trees, especially of the genus Viburnum, having tough, straight shoots formerly used for arrows.

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arrowwood British  

/ ˈærəʊˌwʊd /

noun

1. any of various trees or shrubs, esp certain viburnums, having long straight tough stems formerly used by North American Indians to make arrows

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Etymology

Origin of arrowwood

An Americanism dating back to 1700–10; so called from its use in making arrows

Example Sentences

The arrowwood viburnum was sown a year earlier, but is now 24 inches high and fit for planting out.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 18, 2021

All the boys went up the mountain side to get hickory limbs for bows, and arrowwood for "spikes".

From Mothering on Perilous by Furman, Lucy S.

She dropped down on the bench under the arrowwood shelter and let herself go.

From The Desert Fiddler by Hamby, William H. (William Henry)

These alluvial plains are covered with a dense growth of mesquite, cottonwood, willow, arrowwood, quelite and wild hemp.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 6 "Cockaigne" to "Columbus, Christopher" by Various

Say where do the March winds such treasures uncover, Such maple and arrowwood burn in the fall, As up the blue peaks where the thunder-gods hover In cloud-curtained Berkshire who cradled us all?

From The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony (Volume 1 of 2) Including Public Addresses, Her Own Letters and Many From Her Contemporaries During Fifty Years by Harper, Ida Husted