Adjacent Words

bayberry definitions

	Tweet

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: West Indian tree; source of bay rum [syn: bayberry, bay- rum tree, Jamaica bayberry, wild cinnamon, Pimenta acris]
2: deciduous aromatic shrub of eastern North America with grey- green wax-coated berries [syn: bayberry, candleberry, swamp candleberry, waxberry, Myrica pensylvanica]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1575 1. any of several wax myrtles; especially a hardy shrub (Myrica pensylvanica) of coastal eastern North America bearing dense clusters of small berries covered with grayish-white wax 2. the fruit of a bayberry

Britannica Concise

Any of several aromatic shrubs and small trees of the genus Myrica in the bayberry family (Myricaceae), but especially M. pennsylvanica, also called candleberry, which has grayish waxy berries that, upon boiling, yield the wax used in bayberry candles. The California bayberry, or California wax myrtle (M. californica), is used as an ornamental on sandy soils in warm climates.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) any of various N. American plants of the genus Myrica, having aromatic leaves and bearing berries covered in a wax coating. Etymology: BAY(2) + BERRY

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bayberry Bay"ber*ry, n. (Bot.) (a) The fruit of the bay tree or Laurus nobilis. (b) A tree of the West Indies related to the myrtle (Pimenta acris). (c) The fruit of Myrica cerifera (wax myrtle); the shrub itself; -- called also candleberry tree. Bayberry tallow, a fragrant green wax obtained from the bayberry or wax myrtle; -- called also myrtle wax.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Candleberry tree Can"dle*ber`ry tree (Bot.) A shrub (the Myrica cerifera, or wax-bearing myrtle), common in North America, the little nuts of which are covered with a greenish white wax, which was formerly, used for hardening candles; -- also called bayberry tree, bayberry, or candleberry.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Wax-myrtle (Myrica cerifera).