hop hornbeam

noun

any of several Eurasian and North American trees of the genus Ostrya, of the birch family, especially O. virginiana, bearing hoplike fruiting clusters.

Origin of hop hornbeam

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for hop hornbeam

Historical Examples of hop hornbeam

It is known as ironwood, hop-hornbeam, leverwood, and hardhack.
American Forest Trees
Henry H. Gibson
Moosewood looks slender and striped as a ribbon-snake, and limbs of the hop-hornbeam have the appearance of sinews.
In the Open
Stanton Davis Kirkham