英语词汇“spruce”的英英意思、用法、释义、翻译、读音、例句、短语、词组-英语词典

1n 2adjv

Spruce is a verb that means you pay special attention to your personal appearance, especially your grooming and clothing. If you want to spruce up for a wedding, you'll need to rent a tuxedo and do something with your hair.

Spruce can also mean that you're making something else look better. You might spruce up the living room before your girlfriend's visit by vacuuming, throwing away all the trash, and putting away the dishes you left sitting around. Spruce is typically used in combination with the word up: spruce up. Spruce's use as a verb possibly originated from "spruce leather," which was used to make a popular type of jacket back in the 1400s.

TASTY MORSELS

Vocabulary Shout-Out: Anthony Lane for "Spruce" (Adj.)

Film critic Anthony Lane opens his review of "Fast & Furious 6" in this week's New Yorker by referring to the film's new name as spruce.

The first film, in 2001, was called "The Fast and the Furious," but the going has been so rough and so raw, over the years, that at some point the definite articles dropped off. I prefer the stripped-down version, and can't help wishing that the principle had been applied more freely in the past: "Bad & Beautiful," "Good, Bad & Ugly," "Remains of the Day." Spruce though the new name may be, however, is it true?

Spruce, meaning "neat, up to date, trim" is usually heard (at least in the US) in its verb form, "to make something neat or trim or to groom." The usage tracker on our Dictionary Definition page gives us this typical example:

But here, Lane uses spruce as an adjective, delighting his language-loving readers with a rare form of a familiar word. Why is spruce as a verb so common and spruce as an adjective relatively rare? Both link back to the Old French "Pruce," which came into English during the 14th century as a way to refer to all things Prussian, such as the leather, wood, and beer imported to England at that time. (Spruce as in "spruce tree" was born in the same linguistic moment, as those particular conifers were believed to be of Prussian origin.) In the Elizabethan era, an association with things "neat, trim, and up-to-date" attached itself to spruce, via the fashion among noblemen of wearing jerkins made from "spruce leather."

And then, as the UK-based website The Phrase Finder tells us, spruce expanded its scope yet again in the early 20th-century, as Americans began using the verb spruce to describe the spiffing-up of things beyond one's personal appearance, such as a living room or Apple's line of products. History buffs may recall Howard Hugh's World War II-era airplane prototype nicknamed the "Spruce Goose" due to its ground-breaking nature and wood-based design. This blending of spruce as "modern and up-to-date" and spruce as "tree" demonstrates that the word's adjectival form was still in ciruclation. Now, in the US at least, it feels almost as unfamiliar as the jerkins from which it derived.

Can you find any references to spruce as an adjective in your daily life and reading? Share them in a comment below. And be sure to let us know on which side of the Atlantic you head it!

WORD FAMILY

spruce: spruced, sprucely, spruceness, sprucer, spruces, sprucest, sprucing

USAGE EXAMPLES

The owner of the Spruce Hill Inn told the paper the venue was rented “under false pretenses” and he expected a small party.

Washington Times(Dec 31, 2016)

Ingalsbe owned a home in the Spruce Creek community, which surrounds the private airport.

Seattle Times(Dec 29, 2016)

While a lot of local Christmas tree farms are open only on weekends, Oney’s is open daily, offering customers firs, pines and spruces.

Washington Times(Dec 19, 2016)

1n any coniferous tree of the genus Picea

Hypo|Hyper

Norway spruce, Picea abies

tall pyramidal spruce native to northern Europe having dark green foliage on spreading branches with pendulous branchlets and long pendulous cones

Brewer's spruce, Picea breweriana, weeping spruce

medium-sized spruce of California and Oregon having pendulous branches

Engelmann spruce, Engelmann's spruce, Picea engelmannii

tall spruce of Rocky Mountains and British Columbia with blue-green needles and acutely conic crown; wood used for rough lumber and boxes

Picea glauca, white spruce

medium-sized spruce of northeastern North America having short blue-green leaves and slender cones

Picea mariana, black spruce, spruce pine

small spruce of boggy areas of northeastern North America having spreading branches with dense foliage; inferior wood

Picea obovata, Siberian spruce

tall spruce of northern Europe and Asia; resembles Norway spruce

Picea sitchensis, Sitka spruce

a large spruce that grows only along the northwestern coast of the United States and Canada; has sharp stiff needles and thin bark; the wood has a high ratio of strength to weight

Picea orientalis, oriental spruce

evergreen tree of the Caucasus and Asia Minor used as an ornamental having pendulous branchlets

Colorado blue spruce, Colorado spruce, Picea pungens, silver spruce

tall spruce with blue-green needles and dense conic crown; older trees become columnar with lower branches sweeping downward

Picea rubens, eastern spruce, red spruce, yellow spruce

medium-sized spruce of eastern North America; chief lumber spruce of the area; source of pulpwood

conifer, coniferous tree

any gymnospermous tree or shrub bearing cones

2n light soft moderately strong wood of spruce trees; used especially for timbers and millwork

Hyper

wood

the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees

1adj marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners

Syn

dapper, dashing, jaunty, natty, raffish, rakish, snappy, spiffy
fashionable, stylish

being or in accordance with current social fashions

2v make neat, smart, or trim

Spruce up your house for Spring

Syn|Hyper

slick up, smarten up, spiff up, spruce up, titivate, tittivate

beautify, embellish, fancify, prettify

make more beautiful

3v dress and groom with particular care, as for a special occasion

He spruced up for the party

Syn|Hyper

slick up, smarten up, spruce up

groom, neaten

care for one's external appearance

单词	spruce
释义	spruce (once / 1095 pages) 1n 2adjv Spruce is a verb that means you pay special attention to your personal appearance, especially your grooming and clothing. If you want to spruce up for a wedding, you'll need to rent a tuxedo and do something with your hair. Spruce can also mean that you're making something else look better. You might spruce up the living room before your girlfriend's visit by vacuuming, throwing away all the trash, and putting away the dishes you left sitting around. Spruce is typically used in combination with the word up: spruce up. Spruce's use as a verb possibly originated from "spruce leather," which was used to make a popular type of jacket back in the 1400s. TASTY MORSELS Vocabulary Shout-Out: Anthony Lane for "Spruce" (Adj.) Film critic Anthony Lane opens his review of "Fast & Furious 6" in this week's New Yorker by referring to the film's new name as spruce. The first film, in 2001, was called "The Fast and the Furious," but the going has been so rough and so raw, over the years, that at some point the definite articles dropped off. I prefer the stripped-down version, and can't help wishing that the principle had been applied more freely in the past: "Bad & Beautiful," "Good, Bad & Ugly," "Remains of the Day." Spruce though the new name may be, however, is it true? Spruce, meaning "neat, up to date, trim" is usually heard (at least in the US) in its verb form, "to make something neat or trim or to groom." The usage tracker on our Dictionary Definition page gives us this typical example: But here, Lane uses spruce as an adjective, delighting his language-loving readers with a rare form of a familiar word. Why is spruce as a verb so common and spruce as an adjective relatively rare? Both link back to the Old French "Pruce," which came into English during the 14th century as a way to refer to all things Prussian, such as the leather, wood, and beer imported to England at that time. (Spruce as in "spruce tree" was born in the same linguistic moment, as those particular conifers were believed to be of Prussian origin.) In the Elizabethan era, an association with things "neat, trim, and up-to-date" attached itself to spruce, via the fashion among noblemen of wearing jerkins made from "spruce leather." And then, as the UK-based website The Phrase Finder tells us, spruce expanded its scope yet again in the early 20th-century, as Americans began using the verb spruce to describe the spiffing-up of things beyond one's personal appearance, such as a living room or Apple's line of products. History buffs may recall Howard Hugh's World War II-era airplane prototype nicknamed the "Spruce Goose" due to its ground-breaking nature and wood-based design. This blending of spruce as "modern and up-to-date" and spruce as "tree" demonstrates that the word's adjectival form was still in ciruclation. Now, in the US at least, it feels almost as unfamiliar as the jerkins from which it derived. Can you find any references to spruce as an adjective in your daily life and reading? Share them in a comment below. And be sure to let us know on which side of the Atlantic you head it! WORD FAMILY spruce: spruced, sprucely, spruceness, sprucer, spruces, sprucest, sprucing USAGE EXAMPLES The owner of the Spruce Hill Inn told the paper the venue was rented “under false pretenses” and he expected a small party. Washington Times(Dec 31, 2016) Ingalsbe owned a home in the Spruce Creek community, which surrounds the private airport. Seattle Times(Dec 29, 2016) While a lot of local Christmas tree farms are open only on weekends, Oney’s is open daily, offering customers firs, pines and spruces. Washington Times(Dec 19, 2016) 1 1n any coniferous tree of the genus Picea Hypo\|Hyper Norway spruce, Picea abies tall pyramidal spruce native to northern Europe having dark green foliage on spreading branches with pendulous branchlets and long pendulous cones Brewer's spruce, Picea breweriana, weeping spruce medium-sized spruce of California and Oregon having pendulous branches Engelmann spruce, Engelmann's spruce, Picea engelmannii tall spruce of Rocky Mountains and British Columbia with blue-green needles and acutely conic crown; wood used for rough lumber and boxes Picea glauca, white spruce medium-sized spruce of northeastern North America having short blue-green leaves and slender cones Picea mariana, black spruce, spruce pine small spruce of boggy areas of northeastern North America having spreading branches with dense foliage; inferior wood Picea obovata, Siberian spruce tall spruce of northern Europe and Asia; resembles Norway spruce Picea sitchensis, Sitka spruce a large spruce that grows only along the northwestern coast of the United States and Canada; has sharp stiff needles and thin bark; the wood has a high ratio of strength to weight Picea orientalis, oriental spruce evergreen tree of the Caucasus and Asia Minor used as an ornamental having pendulous branchlets Colorado blue spruce, Colorado spruce, Picea pungens, silver spruce tall spruce with blue-green needles and dense conic crown; older trees become columnar with lower branches sweeping downward Picea rubens, eastern spruce, red spruce, yellow spruce medium-sized spruce of eastern North America; chief lumber spruce of the area; source of pulpwood conifer, coniferous tree any gymnospermous tree or shrub bearing cones 2n light soft moderately strong wood of spruce trees; used especially for timbers and millwork Hyper wood the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees 2 1adj marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners Syn dapper, dashing, jaunty, natty, raffish, rakish, snappy, spiffy fashionable, stylish being or in accordance with current social fashions 2v make neat, smart, or trim Spruce up your house for Spring Syn\|Hyper slick up, smarten up, spiff up, spruce up, titivate, tittivate beautify, embellish, fancify, prettify make more beautiful 3v dress and groom with particular care, as for a special occasion He spruced up for the party Syn\|Hyper slick up, smarten up, spruce up groom, neaten care for one's external appearance
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