tamarisk

[tam-uh-risk]

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.

Origin of tamarisk

1350–1400; Middle English tamariscus < Late Latin, variant of Latin tamarix, perhaps of Hamitic orig.

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

Examples from the Web for tamarisk

Historical Examples of tamarisk

The air smelled sweet in the shade of the tamarisk; there was ineffable peace.
The Patrician
John Galsworthy
But all that came was the sigh of the sea, and of the wind in the tamarisk.
The Patrician
John Galsworthy
The scenery was varied by thickets of mimosas, with here and there a baobab or a tamarisk.
Some Heroes of Travel
W. H. Davenport Adams
The dom palm, tamarisk, acacia and wild senna are also found.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 7
Various
The tamarisk flowers have more color in them than your face.
In the Roar of the Sea
Sabine Baring-Gould

British Dictionary definitions for tamarisk

tamarisk

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

Word Origin and History for tamarisk

southern European evergreen shrub, c.1400, from Late Latin tamariscus, variant of tamarix, of unknown origin, probably a borrowing from a non-Indo-European language, perhaps related to Hebrew tamar "palm tree, date palm" (see tamarind).