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oak
oak any tree or shrub of the genus Quercus of the family Fagaceae ( beech family). This complex genus includes as many as 600, found chiefly in north temperate zones and also in Polynesia. The more southerly species, ranging into the tropics, are usually evergreen. Oaks are cultivated for ornament and are prized as the major source of hardwood lumber. The wood is durable, tough, and attractively grained; it is especially valued in shipbuilding and construction and for flooring, furniture, railroad ties, barrels, tool handles, and veneer (particularly highly burled oak). The oaks are commonly divided into two groups, the black (or red) and the white. The former (e.g., the scarlet, pin, Spanish, willow, laurel, and shingle oaks) are characterized by leaves with sharp-tipped lobes and by acorns that mature in two years. The white oaks (e.g., the white, post, bur, cork, and holly oaks) are characterized by smooth-lobed leaves and acorns that mature in one year. Q. alba, the white oak, is the most important timber tree of the oak genus. Lumber-yielding species of chestnut (genus Castanea ) are included in the white oak group when the term is used as a timber classification. The live oaks, evergreen species common in the S and SW United States, are sometimes considered a separate group. The bark of some oaks has been employed in medicine, in tanning, and for dyes; that of the cork oak supplies the cork of commerce. The galls caused by certain insects are utilized commercially. The Mediterranean kermes oak ( Q. coccifera ) is host to the kermes insect, source of the world's oldest dyestuff. Acorns, the fruit of oak trees, have long been employed as a source of hog feed, tannin (chiefly from valonia, the acorn cup of the Turkish oak, Q. aegilops ), oil, and especially food. Acorns were one of the most important foods of the North American forest Native Americans; they were pulverized, leached to extract the bitter taste, and then cooked in various ways. Acorns have also been used as food in other regions where they are native. A symbol of strength, the oak has been revered for both historical and mythological associations. It was the favorite of Jove and Thor and especially sacred to the druids. St. Louis administered justice under an oak, and the Charter Oak is legendary in America. Several unrelated plants are also called oak, e.g., the Jerusalem oak (a lobe-leaved annual of the goosefoot family) and the poison oak of the sumac family (see poison ivy ). Oaks are classified in the division Magnoliophyta , class Magnoliopsida, order Fagales, family Fagaceae. |
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"oak." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oak." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-oak.html "oak." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-oak.html |
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oak
oak [OE āc]. The mighty deciduous hardwood (genus Quercus) has played a prominent role in the Celtic imagination from ancient to modern times. The English word ‘druid’ (from the Latin plural druidae) derives in part from the root dru- [oak]; Celtic words for oak, e.g. OIr. and ModIr. dair, W derwen, share the same root. The ancient geographer Strabo (1st cent. AD) reported that the important sacred grove and meeting-place of the Galatian Celts of Asia Minor, Drunemeton, was filled with oaks. In an often-cited passage from Historia Naturalis (1st cent. AD), Pliny the Elder describes a festival on the sixth day of the moon where the druids climbed an oak tree, cut a bough of mistletoe, and sacrificed two white bulls as part of a fertility rite. Elsewhere druids made their wands from only three woods: yew, oak, and apple. In Mediterranean culture the oak was sacred to both Zeus and Jupiter, some aspects of which were no doubt transferred to the worship of Gaulish Jupiter. Britons under Roman occupation worshipped a goddess of the oak tree, Daron, whose name is commemorated in a rivulet in Gwynedd. According to the pseudo-history Lebor Gabála [Book of Invasions], the sacred oak of early Ireland was that of Mugna, probably located at or near Dunmanogoe, south Co. Kildare. Sacred associations of oaks survived Christianization, so that St Brigit's monastic foundation was at Cill Dara [church of (the) oak, i.e. Kildare], and St Colum Cille favoured Doire Calgaich [Calgach's oak grove, i.e. (London-)Derry]; see also DURROW [darú, from dair magh, oak plain]. In Welsh tradition Gwydion and Math use the flower of oak with broom to fashion the beautiful Blodeuwedd. When Lleu Llaw Gyffes is about to be killed by Gronw Pebyr, his wife's lover, he escapes in eagle form onto a magic oak tree. A sacred oak tree protects the Breton city of Ys until the feckless boy Kristof removes it, allowing Ys tobe engulfed. The Arthurian figure Merlin is imprisoned in an oak tree in the Breton forest of Brocéliande by Viviane/Nimiane (the Lady of the Lake). In both British and Irish fairy lore, the oak is one of three magical woods, along with ash and thorn. OIr. and ModIr. dair; ScG darach; Manx daragh; W derwen, dâr; Corn. derowen; Bret. dervenn.
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JAMES MacKILLOP. "oak." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES MacKILLOP. "oak." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-oak.html JAMES MacKILLOP. "oak." A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O70-oak.html |
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oak
oak allusion is often made to the hardness and durability of the oak, and to the traditional use of oak timber for ships. In traditional rhymes, it may be linked and compared with other trees, as the ash and the thorn.
The Oaks is an annual flat horse race for three-year-old fillies run on Epsom Downs, over the same course as the Derby. It was first run in 1779, and is so called from the estate of the 12th Earl of Derby, owner of the first winner. beware of an oak, it draws the stroke; avoid an ash, it counts the flash; creep under the thorn, it can save you from harm proverbial saying, late 19th century, recording traditional beliefs on where to shelter from lightning during a thunderstorm. Oak-apple Day the anniversary of Charles II's restoration (29 May), when oak-apples or oak-leaves used to be worn in memory of his hiding in an oak after the battle of Worcester. sport the (or one's) oak (in certain universities) shut the outer door of one's room as a sign that one does not wish to be disturbed (such doors were formerly made of oak). when the oak is before the ash, then you will only get a splash; when the ash is before the oak, then you may expect a soak proverbial saying, mid 19th century; a traditional way of predicting whether the summer will be wet or dry on the basis of whether the oak or the ash is first to come into leaf in the spring. See also great oaks from little acorns grow, heart of oak, little strokes fell great oaks, a reed before the wind lives on, while mighty oaks do fall. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "oak." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "oak." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-oak.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "oak." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-oak.html |
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oak
oak / ōk/ • n. (also oak tree) a tree (genus Quercus) of the beech family that bears acorns as fruit, and typically has lobed deciduous leaves. Oaks are common in many north temperate forests and are an important source of hard and durable wood used chiefly in construction, furniture, and (formerly) shipbuilding. Its many species include the Eastern white oak (Q. alba) and Eastern black oak (Q. velutina). DERIVATIVES: oak·en / ˈōkən/ adj. oak·y adj. |
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"oak." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oak." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-oak.html "oak." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-oak.html |
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oak
oak Common name of c.600 species of the genus Quercus, which are found in temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere and at high elevations in the tropics. Most species are hardwood trees that grow 18–30m (60–100ft) tall. Leaves are simple, often lobed, and sometimes serrated. The flowers are greenish and inconspicuous; male flowers hang in catkins. The fruit is an acorn, surrounded by a cup.
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"oak." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oak." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-oak.html "oak." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-oak.html |
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oak
oak OE. āc (pl. ǣċ) = MLG. ēk (Du. eik), OHG. eih (G. eiche), ON. eik :- Gmc. *aiks; ulterior connections unkn.
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T. F. HOAD. "oak." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "oak." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-oak.html T. F. HOAD. "oak." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-oak.html |
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oak
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "oak." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "oak." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-oak.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "oak." A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. 1998. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O7-oak.html |
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oak
oak. See limewood.
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IAN CHILVERS. "oak." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "oak." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-oak.html IAN CHILVERS. "oak." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-oak.html |
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oak
oak •awoke, bespoke, bloke, broke, choke, cloak, Coke, convoke, croak, evoke, folk, invoke, joke, Koch, moke, oak, okey-doke, poke, provoke, revoke, roque, smoke, soak, soke, spoke, stoke, stony-broke (US stone-broke), stroke, toke, toque, woke, yoke, yolk
•Holyoake • artichoke • gentlefolk
•menfolk • kinsfolk • womenfolk
•townsfolk • fisherfolk • holmoak
•woodsmoke • cowpoke • slowpoke
•backstroke • breaststroke • keystroke
•heatstroke • sidestroke • downstroke
•sunstroke • upstroke • masterstroke
•counterstroke • equivoque
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"oak." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "oak." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-oak.html "oak." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-oak.html |
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