beech

See also: Beech

English
European beech (Fagus sylvatica) forest in spring. Hessen, Germany.

Wikispecies

Etymology

From Middle English beche, from Old English bēċe, from Proto-Germanic *bōkijǭ, from Proto-Germanic *bōks (“beech; book”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂ǵos (“beech tree”).

Cognates

From the same Proto-Germanic word: Dutch beuk, German Buche, Danish bøg, Norwegian bøk.

From the same Proto-Indo-European word: Latin fāgus (“beech”), Russian бузина́ (buziná, “elder”), Ancient Greek φηγός (phēgós, “oak”).

More at book.

Pronunciation
  • enPR: bēch, IPA(key): /biːt͡ʃ/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːtʃ
  • Homophone: beach

Noun

beech (plural beeches)

  1. A tree of the genus Fagus having a smooth, light grey trunk, oval, pointed leaves and many branches.
    • 1907, Harold Edward Bindloss, chapter 1, in The Dust of Conflict‎:
      A beech wood with silver firs in it rolled down the face of the hill, and the maze of leafless twigs and dusky spires cut sharp against the soft blueness of the evening sky.
  2. The wood of the beech tree.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations
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