spindle tree

British  

noun

1. any of various shrubs or trees of the genus Euonymus, esp E. europaeus, of Europe and W Asia, typically having red fruits and yielding a hard wood formerly used in making spindles: family Celastraceae

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spindle tree

The fruit of which they make it comes from "Arabia the Happy," and the tree that I saw looks like a spindle tree, but the leaves are thicker, tougher, and greener.

From All About Coffee by Ukers, William H. (William Harrison)

Half hidden by a spindle tree, they were sitting on the grass in the middle of the lawn.

From A Love Episode by Zola, Émile

In the nutmeg and spindle tree this additional coat is formed from above downwards, constituting in the former case a laciniated scarlet covering called mace.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various