tamarisk

[ tam-uh-risk ]

/ ˈtæm ə rɪsk /

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noun

any Old World tropical plant of the genus Tamarix, especially T. gallica, an ornamental Mediterranean shrub or small tree having slender, feathery branches.

a shrub or small tree, Tamarix chinensis, of Eurasia, having scalelike leaves and clusters of pink flowers, naturalized in the southwestern U.S., where it has become a troublesome weed.

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Origin of tamarisk

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English tamariscus, from Late Latin, variant of Latin tamarīc-, stem tamarix; further origin uncertain

Words nearby tamarisk

tamarau, tamari, tamarillo, tamarin, tamarind, tamarisk, tamas, tamasha, Tamatave, Tamaulipas, Tamayo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tamarisk in a sentence

He led across the Kuweik, through the orchards—dim and still, until at a tamarisk bush he halted.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis
He shot a man seven years ago—one of Perucca's men, of course, who was creeping up through the tamarisk trees.
The Isle of Unrest|Henry Seton Merriman
That monument, surrounded by tamarisk bushes, above which its summit rises, bears upon it a memorial figure by Flaxman.
Recollections of Thirty-nine Years in the Army|Charles Alexander Gordon
The tamarisk appears afterwards to have given the idea of a subdivision of leaf more pure and quaint than that of the acanthus.
The Stones of Venice, Volume I (of 3)|John Ruskin

The soft crack of a duck-gun came to their ears from far off among the tamarisk bushes beside the green-grey waters.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for tamarisk

tamarisk

/ (ˈtæmərɪsk) /

noun

any of various ornamental trees and shrubs of the genus Tamarix, of the Mediterranean region and S and SE Asia, having scalelike leaves, slender branches, and feathery clusters of pink or whitish flowers: family Tamaricaceae

Word Origin for tamarisk

C15: from Late Latin tamariscus, from Latin tamarix

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