Judas tree

noun

a purple-flowered Eurasian tree, Cercis siliquastrum, of the legume family, supposed to be the kind upon which Judas hanged himself.
any of various other trees of the same genus, as the redbud.

Origin of Judas tree

First recorded in 1660–70

Words Nearby Judas tree

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Judas tree in a sentence

Near Taylor the Judas-tree was in purple bloom, and further away the Japanese cherries lifted pink sprays against a soft grey sky.
A Book of Bryn Mawr Stories | Marian T. MacIntosh
The first thing to admire is the garden once more, with its verdant cedars of Lebanon and a Judas-tree bent beneath its blood.
A Wanderer in Venice | E.V. Lucas
In a burst of sunshine the cherry-trees are white, the Judas-tree is pink, the hawthorns give a sweet smell.
Quotes and Images From The Works of Charles Dudley Warner | Charles Dudley Warner
There is also the yellow of the mimosa, and the inimitable red of the occasional judas-tree.
Riviera Towns | Herbert Adams Gibbons
Are they sitting at the window, looking out at the Judas tree and the Paulownia?
Alas! | Rhoda Broughton

British Dictionary definitions for Judas tree

Judas tree

noun

small Eurasian leguminous tree, Cercis siliquastrum, with pinkish-purple flowers that bloom before the leaves appear: popularly thought to be the tree on which Judas hanged himself: See also redbud

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

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