Adjacent Words

bead tree definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: small tree of West Indies and northeastern Venezuela having large oblong pointed leaflets and panicles of purple flowers; seeds are black or scarlet with black spots [syn: bead tree, jumby bean, jumby tree, Ormosia monosperma]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Azedarach A*zed"a*rach, n. [F. az['e]darac, Sp. acederaque, Pers. [=a]z[=a]ddirakht noble tree.] 1. (Bot.) A handsome Asiatic tree (Melia azedarach), common in the southern United States; -- called also, Pride of India, Pride of China, and Bead tree. 2. (Med.) The bark of the roots of the azedarach, used as a cathartic and emetic.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bead Bead, n. [OE. bede prayer, prayer bead, AS. bed, gebed, prayer; akin to D. bede, G. bitte, AS. biddan, to ask, bid, G. bitten to ask, and perh. to Gr. ? to persuade, L. fidere to trust. Beads are used by the Roman Catholics to count their prayers, one bead being dropped down a string every time a prayer is said. Cf. Sp. cuenta bead, fr. contar to count. See Bid, in to bid beads, and Bide.] 1. A prayer. [Obs.] 2. A little perforated ball, to be strung on a thread, and worn for ornament; or used in a rosary for counting prayers, as by Roman Catholics and Mohammedans, whence the phrases to tell beads, to at one's beads, to bid beads, etc., meaning, to be at prayer. 3. Any small globular body; as, (a) A bubble in spirits. (b) A drop of sweat or other liquid. ``Cold beads of midnight dew.'' --Wordsworth. (c) A small knob of metal on a firearm, used for taking aim (whence the expression to draw a bead, for, to take aim). (d) (Arch.) A small molding of rounded surface, the section being usually an arc of a circle. It may be continuous, or broken into short embossments. (e) (Chem.) A glassy drop of molten flux, as borax or microcosmic salt, used as a solvent and color test for several mineral earths and oxides, as of iron, manganese, etc., before the blowpipe; as, the borax bead; the iron bead, etc. Bead and butt (Carp.), framing in which the panels are flush, having beads stuck or run upon the two edges. --Knight. Beat mold, a species of fungus or mold, the stems of which consist of single cells loosely jointed together so as to resemble a string of beads. [Written also bead mould.] Bead tool, a cutting tool, having an edge curved so as to make beads or beading. Bead tree (Bot.), a tree of the genus Melia, the best known species of which (M. azedarach), has blue flowers which are very fragrant, and berries which are poisonous.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Margosa Mar*go"sa, n. [Pg. amargoso bitter.] (Bot.) A large tree of genus Melia (M. Azadirachta) found in India. Its bark is bitter, and used as a tonic. A valuable oil is expressed from its seeds, and a tenacious gum exudes from its trunk. The M. Azedarach is a much more showy tree, and is cultivated in the Southern United States, where it is known as Pride of India, Pride of China, or bead tree. Various parts of the tree are considered anthelmintic. The margosa oil . . . is a most valuable balsam for wounds, having a peculiar smell which prevents the attacks of flies. --Sir S. Baker.