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

By good fortune, instead of being carried past the island and down the river, he was able to catch hold of a low-hanging streamer of weeping willow and pull himself ashore.

From Literature

Next to one of Suzhou’s iconic canals lined with weeping willows sits a repair shop for tabletop electric motors.

From New York Times

Ms. Mori’s creations look like chimerical species — hybrids of barnacles and cumulus clouds, a baobab and a weeping willow, a waterlily and fiddlehead ferns, sea urchin spines and a swarm of starlings.

From New York Times

Valley shimmied up the weeping willow in Seven’s backyard, placed the pod, and slid down with the grace of a jaguar.

From Literature

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