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ilex

1 American  
[ahy-leks] / ˈaɪ lɛks /

noun

  1. holm oak.


ilex 2 American  
[ahy-leks] / ˈaɪ lɛks /

noun

  1. any tree or shrub of the genus Ilex.

  2. a holly.


ilex British  
/ ˈaɪlɛks /

noun

  1. any of various trees or shrubs of the widely distributed genus Ilex, such as the holly and inkberry: family Aquifoliaceae

  2. another name for the holm 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

Etymology

Origin of ilex1

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin

Origin of ilex2

1555–65; < New Latin, Latin īlex ilex 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Beyond, the path was the same—empty in the darkening moonlight and leading gently downhill into the deep shadow of a grove of ilex trees.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

Dandelion overtook him and the two disappeared among the ilex trees.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

We could almost have walked to Ariccia, it is so near, and such a lovely road, all ilex trees and great rocks, winding along the side of the hill.

From Italian Letters of a Diplomat's Life January-May, 1880; February-April, 1904 by Waddington, Mary Alsop King

With Druidism departed the forests of the ilex and the quercus from Aran.

From The South Isles of Aran by Burke, Oliver J.

Lath and plaster circuses or theatres are erected by the Mausoleum of Hadrian, and the miserable caged monkeys of a menagerie pull each other's tails where Raffaele's pavillion stood amidst the nightingale-filled ilex groves.

From Critical Studies by Ouida

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