ext_34538 ([identity profile] simplyn2deep.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] 1_million_words2021-12-23 05:07 am

Word of the Day 12/23/21 Spruce

Spruce (noun, adjective)
spruce [sproos]
(previously 12-22-13)

noun
1. any evergreen, coniferous tree of the genus Picea, of the pine family, having short, angular, needle-shaped leaves attached singly around twigs and bearing hanging cones with persistent scales.
2. any of various allied trees, as the Douglas fir and the hemlock spruce.
3. the wood of any such tree.

adjective
4. made from the wood of a spruce tree or trees.
5. containing or abounding in spruce trees.

Origin: 1350–1400; Middle English, special use of Spruce, sandhi variant of Pruce < Old French Pruce < Medieval Latin Prussia Prussia, whence the timber came

spruce [sproos]
adjective, spruc·er, spruc·est.
1. trim in dress or appearance; neat; smart; dapper.

verb (used with object), spruced, spruc·ing.
2. to make spruce or smart (often followed by up): Spruce up the children before the company comes.

verb (used without object), spruced, spruc·ing.
3. to make oneself spruce (usually followed by up).

Origin: 1580–90; obsolete spruce jerkin orig., jerkin made of spruce leather, i.e., leather imported from Prussia (see spruce ), hence fine, smart, etc.

Now YOU come up with a sentence (or fic? or graphic?) that best illustrates the word.

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