Definitions for: Spruce


[n] any coniferous tree of the genus Picea
[n] light soft moderately strong wood of spruce trees; used especially for timbers and millwork
[adj] marked by smartness in dress and manners; "a dapper young man"; "a jaunty red hat"
[v] dress and groom with particular care, as for a special occasion; "He spruced up for the party"
[v] make neat, smart, or trim; "Spruce up your house for Spring"; "titivate the child"



Webster (1913) Definition: Spruce, n. [OE. Spruce or Pruse, Prussia, Prussian. So
named because it was first known as a native of Prussia, or
because its sprouts were used for making, spruce beer. Cf.
Spruce beer, below, Spruce, a.]
1. (Bot.) Any coniferous tree of the genus Picea, as the
Norway spruce (P. excelsa), and the white and black
spruces of America (P. alba and P. nigra), besides
several others in the far Northwest. See Picea.

2. The wood or timber of the spruce tree.

3. Prussia leather; pruce. [Obs.]

Spruce, a sort of leather corruptly so called for
Prussia leather. --E. Phillips.

Douglas spruce (Bot.), a valuable timber tree ({Pseudotsuga
Douglasii}) of Northwestern America.

Essence of spruce, a thick, dark-colored, bitterish, and
acidulous liquid made by evaporating a decoction of the
young branches of spruce.

Hemlock spruce (Bot.), a graceful coniferous tree ({Tsuga
Canadensis}) of North America. Its timber is valuable, and
the bark is largely used in tanning leather.

Spruce beer. [G. sprossenbier; sprosse sprout, shoot (akin
to E. sprout, n.) + bier beer. The word was changed into
spruce because the beer came from Prussia (OE. Spruce), or
because it was made from the sprouts of the spruce. See
Sprout, n., Beer, and cf. Spruce, n.] A kind of beer
which is tinctured or flavored with spruce, either by
means of the extract or by decoction.

Spruce grouse. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Spruce partridge,
below.

Spruce leather. See Spruce, n., 3.

Spruce partridge (Zo["o]l.), a handsome American grouse
(Dendragapus Canadensis) found in Canada and the
Northern United States; -- called also Canada grouse.


Spruce, a. [Compar. Sprucer; superl. Sprucest]
[Perhaps fr. spruce a sort of leather from Prussia, which was
an article of finery. See Spruce, n.]
1. Neat, without elegance or dignity; -- formerly applied to
things with a serious meaning; now chiefly applied to
persons. ``Neat and spruce array.'' --Remedy of Love.

2. Sprightly; dashing. [Obs.] ``Now, my spruce companions.''
--Shak.

He is so spruce that he can never be genteel.
--Tatler.

Syn: Finical; neat; trim. See Finical. -- Sruce"ly, adv.
-- Spruce"ness, n.


Spruce, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spruced; p. pr. & vb. n.
Sprucing.]
To dress with affected neatness; to trim; to make spruce.


Spruce, v. i.
To dress one's self with affected neatness; as, to spruce up.

Synonyms: dapper, dashing, fashionable, jaunty, natty, raffish, rakish, slick up, slick up, smart, smarten up, smarten up, snappy, spiff up, spiffy, spruce up, spruce up, stylish, titivate, tittivate

See Also: beautify, black spruce, Brewer's spruce, Colorado blue spruce, Colorado spruce, conifer, coniferous tree, eastern spruce, embellish, Engelmann spruce, Engelmann's spruce, genus Picea, groom, neaten, Norway spruce, oriental spruce, Picea, Picea abies, Picea breweriana, Picea engelmannii, Picea glauca, Picea mariana, Picea obovata, Picea orientalis, Picea pungens, Picea rubens, prettify, red spruce, Siberian spruce, silver spruce, spruce, spruce pine, weeping spruce, white spruce, wood, yellow spruce

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