weeping willow

American  

noun

1. an Asian willow, Salix babylonica, characterized by the drooping habit of its branches.

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weeping willow British  

noun

1. a hybrid willow tree, Salix alba × S. babylonica , known as S. alba var. tristis , having long hanging branches: widely planted for ornament

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Etymology

Origin of weeping willow

First recorded in 1725–35

Example Sentences

I grew up in New Hampshire, where there are really old graveyards, and I just loved the oldest headstones with the winged skulls and weeping willow.

From New York Times • Nov. 8, 2022

At the entrance to the Planet Word museum in Washington, D.C., stands a remarkable sculpture designed to resemble a weeping willow.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2022

About 400 metres from ground zero in Hiroshima, a weeping willow and other plants regrew from their roots.

From Nature • Mar. 3, 2020

She is tall, with straight brown hair and long arms that dangle, a little comically, like the boughs of a weeping willow.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 14, 2015

In this case, that meant the two weeping willow trees and the mulberry growing against the front of the house.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides