spruce

¹

[sproos]

noun

1. any evergreen, coniferous tree of the genus Picea, of the pine family, having short, angular, needle-shaped leaves attached singly around twigs and bearing hanging cones with persistent scales.

2. any of various allied trees, as the Douglas fir and the hemlock spruce.

3. the wood of any such tree.

adjective

1. made from the wood of a spruce tree or trees.

2. containing or abounding in spruce trees.

spruce

²

[sproos]

adjective

sprucer, sprucest 

1. trim in dress or appearance; neat; smart; dapper.

verb (used with object)

spruced, sprucing 

1. to make spruce or smart (often followed byup ).

   Spruce up the children before the company comes.

verb (used without object)

spruced, sprucing 

1. to make oneself spruce (usually followed byup ).

spruce

¹

/ spruːs /

noun

1. any coniferous tree of the N temperate genus Picea, cultivated for timber and for ornament: family Pinaceae. They grow in a pyramidal shape and have needle-like leaves and light-coloured wood See also Norway spruce blue spruce white spruce black spruce

2. the wood of any of these trees

spruce

²

/ spruːs /

adjective

1. neat, smart, and trim

Other Word Forms

• sprucely adverb
• spruceness noun
• unspruced adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spruce¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, special use of Spruce, Sprus(e), variant of Pruce, Prus(se), from Old French Prusse, Pruisse, from Medieval Latin Prussia Prussia, source of the timber

Origin of spruce²

First recorded in 1580–90; obsolete spruce jerkin originally, jerkin made of spruce leather, i.e., leather imported from Prussia ( spruce ¹ ), hence fine, smart, etc.

Word History and Origins

Origin of spruce¹

C17: short for Spruce fir, from C14 Spruce Prussia, changed from Pruce, via Old French from Latin Prussia

Origin of spruce²

C16: perhaps from Spruce leather a fashionable leather imported from Prussia; see _spruce ¹

Example Sentences

Deep in the forest, high in the mountains—amidst the evergreens, the firs, the spruces—sits a giant panda.

Read more on Literature

Minister Chung said North Koreans have been spotted "sprucing up" areas near the JSA for the first time this year -- cleaning, pulling weeds, tidying flower beds and taking photos.

Read more on Barron's

While he has not produced a successful and critically acclaimed new musical in many years, the better-known works in his catalog have been spruced up by innovative directors.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Uplands’s autumnal and only slightly less prestigious sibling Rush Creek Reserve is a decadent, soft cheese wrapped in spruce bark that drops only in October and November.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He’s pleased to see the estate being spruced up.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal