basswood

American  

[bas-wood] / ˈbæsˌwʊd /

noun

1. any tree of the genus Tilia, especially T. americana, the American linden, having drooping branches and large, toothed, ovate leaves.

2. the wood of a linden.

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basswood British  

/ ˈbæsˌwʊd /

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: bass.  any of several North American linden trees, esp Tilia americana

2. the soft light-coloured wood of any of these trees, used for furniture

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Etymology

Origin of basswood

An Americanism dating back to 1660–70; bass ³ + wood ¹

Example Sentences

When finished, each skinny routed channel also became a precise template for carving a narrow piece of fresh basswood — the American equivalent of European linden — of exactly the same dimensions.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 18, 2024

Among them: red maple, red oak, basswood and ironwood.

From Scientific American • May 5, 2023

The damage on redbud, walnut and basswood took longer to heal.

From Washington Post • Mar. 30, 2021

They soaked basswood in a solution of hydrogen peroxide, which chops normally long lignin molecules into small fragments.

From Science Magazine • May 23, 2019

I lean back in the lounging chair I constructed from bent saplings held together with rope made from the inner bark of the basswood tree, and enjoy the primitive forest.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George