gean

American  

[geen] / gin /

noun

1. heart cherry.

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gean British  

/ ɡiːn /

noun

1. Also called: wild cherry.  a white-flowered rosaceous tree, Prunus avium, of Europe, W Asia, and N Africa, the ancestor of the cultivated sweet cherries

2. See sweet cherry

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Etymology

Origin of gean

First recorded in 1525–35, gean is from the Middle French word guigne, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

Alder and ash are the main tree species but there are also bird cherry and hazel and small numbers of wych elm, gean, holly, rowan and elder.

From BBC • Nov. 20, 2014

If Can'lemas day be murk an' foul, Ya hauf o' t' winter's gean at Yule.

From Yorkshire Dialect Poems (1673-1915) and traditional poems by Moorman, Frederic William

Kirschwasser is made 85 chiefly on the upper Rhine from the wild black gean, and in the manufacture the entire fruit-flesh and kernels are pulped up and allowed to ferment.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various

The wood of the cherry tree is valued by cabinetmakers, and that of the gean tree is largely used in the manufacture of tobacco pipes.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various

God rist you merry, gentlemen, Let nothin' you dismay, Remember Christ oor Saviour Was born o' Kessmas day, To seave wer sowls fra Sattan's power; Lang taam we've gean astray.

From Yorkshire Dialect Poems (1673-1915) and traditional poems by Moorman, Frederic William