ivy

[ahy-vee]

noun, plural i·vies.

Also called English ivy. a climbing vine, Hedera helix, having smooth, shiny, evergreen leaves, small, yellowish flowers, and black berries, grown as an ornamental.

any of various other climbing or trailing plants.

adjective

(often initial capital letter) Ivy League(def 2).

New England. mountain laurel.

Origin of ivy

before 900; Middle English ivi; Old English ifig; akin to German Efeu

Related formsi·vy·like, adjective

Ivy

[ahy-vee]

noun

a female given name.

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

Examples from the Web for ivy

From the religious (‘The Holly and the Ivy’) to the secular (‘The Chipmunk Song’), my top 20.
Yes, I Like Christmas Music. Stop Laughing.|Michael Tomasky|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy, the self-induced, self-absorbed Greek tragedy of Andrew Lohse.
An Ivy League Frat Boy’s Shallow Repentance|Stefan Beck|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Ivy League and other top schools are producing no more than ‘excellent sheep,’ says William Deresiewicz.
The Elite American College Pile-On|Michael S. Roth|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I used to work at an elite Manhattan hedge fund that recruited almost exclusively from the Ivy League and its equivalents.
The Ivy League Provides the Best Trade Schools Around|Nick Romeo|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

CrowdMed is also a system where Ivy League diplomas and prestigious residencies carry no clout.
Strangers Diagnose Your Illness and Get Cash in Return|Kevin Zawacki|August 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Beyond it, amid tall elms, was the old church with its square tower hung with ivy.
Lucy Maud Montgomery Short Stories, 1905 to 1906|Lucy Maud Montgomery
Over head the wind plays in the garlands of ivy, and the clouds pass swiftly across the deep blue sky.
The Wye and Its Associations|Leitch Ritchie
Ivy was growing in fresh clusters between the crevices of the polished rock.
The Dead Command|Vicente Blasco Ibez
The rocks by the stream were often covered with ivy and overhung by sprays of pink roses.
Kashmir|Sir Francis Edward Younghusband
We descend, skirting for some distance the monastery walls, over which patches of ivy hang like green shawls.
Saunterings|Charles Dudley Warner

British Dictionary definitions for ivy

ivy

noun plural ivies

any woody climbing or trailing araliaceous plant of the Old World genus Hedera, esp H. helix, having lobed evergreen leaves and black berry-like fruits

any of various other climbing or creeping plants, such as Boston ivy, poison ivy, and ground ivy

Derived Formsivy-like, adjective

Word Origin for ivy

Old English īfig; related to Old High German ebah, perhaps to Greek iphuon a plant

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 ivy

ivy

Old English ifig, from West Germanic *ibakhs (cf. Middle Low German iflof, Dutch eiloof, Old High German ebahewi, German Efeu), of unknown origin; the second element in the Old High German word might be "hay."

Ivy bush as a sign of a tavern where wine is served is attested from mid-15c. Ivy League, inspired by the notion of old, ivy-coated walls, dates to 1933 (perhaps originally in reference to football; it consists of Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale).

ivy