beech

[ beech ]

/ bitʃ /

noun

any tree of the genus Fagus, of temperate regions, having a smooth gray bark and bearing small, edible, triangular nuts.

Also called beechwood. the wood of such a tree.

any member of the plant family Fagaceae, characterized by trees and shrubs having alternate, usually toothed or lobed leaves, male flowers in catkins and female flowers either solitary or in clusters and bearing a nut enclosed in a cupule or bur, including the beeches, chestnuts, and oaks.

Nearby words

Origin of beech

before 900; Middle English beche, Old English bēce < Germanic *bōkjōn-; akin to Old Saxon, Middle Low German boke, Dutch beuk, Old High German buohha (German Buche), Old Norse bōk, Latin fāgus beech, Doric Greek phāgós, Albanian bung oak (apparently not akin to book)

Related formsbeech·en, adjectivebeech·y, adjective

Can be confusedbeach beech

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for beech

Somewhere over the rainbow—specifically atop Beech Mountain in western North Carolina—a yellow brick road leads straight to Oz.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road…to North Carolina|Nina Strochlic|February 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The committee of reception came forth from the shade of the beech and ranged themselves underneath the arch.
The Nameless Castle|Maurus Jkai
Beech, who did exceptionally good work in charge of a Lewis gun team.
The Sherwood Foresters in the Great War 1914 - 1919|Captain W. C. C. Weetman
The way led through a handsome forest of oak, beech, chestnut and walnut trees.
Alida|Amelia Stratton Comfield

Early Greece worshipped an oak tree, which Strabo, however, assures us was a beech.
Myths of the Rhine|X. B. Saintine
Here are no sombre patches, as under oak or beech; only a tremulous interlacing of light and shade.
Alone|Norman Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for beech

beech

/ (biːtʃ) /

noun

any N temperate tree of the genus Fagus, esp F. sylvatica of Europe, having smooth greyish bark: family Fagaceae

any tree of the related genus Nothofagus, of temperate Australasia and South America

the hard wood of any of these trees, used in making furniture, etc

See copper beech

Derived Formsbeechen or beechy, adjective

Word Origin for beech

Old English bēce; related to Old Norse bók, Old High German buohha, Middle Dutch boeke, Latin fāgus beech, Greek phēgos edible oak

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

Word Origin and History for beech

beech

Old English bece "beech," from Proto-Germanic *bokjon (cf. Old Norse bok, Dutch beuk, Flemish boek, Old High German buohha, German Buche, Middle Dutch boeke "beech"), from PIE root *bhagos "beech tree" (cf. Greek phegos "oak," Latin fagus "beech," Russian buzina "elder"), perhaps with a ground sense of "edible" (and connected with the root of Greek phagein "to eat;" see -phagous). Beech mast was an ancient food source for agricultural animals across a wide stretch of Europe. Formerly with adjectival form beechen. Also see book.