Juniper

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Juniper \Ju"ni*per\, n. [L. juniperus, prop., youth-producing,
     and so called from its evergreen appearance, from the roots
     of E. juvenile, and parent. Cf. {Gin} the liquor.] (Bot.)
     Any evergreen shrub or tree, of the genus {Juniperus} and
     order {Conifer[ae]}.
     [1913 Webster]


  
     Note: The common juniper ({Juniperus communis}) is a shrub of
           a low, spreading form, having awl-shaped, rigid leaves
           in whorls of threes, and bearing small purplish blue
           berries (or galbuli), of a warm, pungent taste, used as
           diuretic and in flavoring gin. A resin exudes from the
           bark, which has erroneously been considered identical
           with sandarach, and is used as pounce. The oil of
           juniper is acrid, and used for various purposes, as in
           medicine, for making varnish, etc. The wood of several
           species is of a reddish color, hard and durable, and is
           used in cabinetwork under the names of {red cedar},
           {Bermuda cedar}, etc.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Juniper worm} (Zool.), the larva of a geometrid moth
        ({Drepanodes varus}). It feeds upon the leaves of the
        juniper, and mimics the small twigs both in form and
        color, in a remarkable manner.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  juniper
       n 1: desert shrub of Syria and Arabia having small white flowers;
            constitutes the juniper of the Old Testament; sometimes
            placed in genus Genista [syn: {retem}, {raetam}, {juniper
            bush}, {Retama raetam}, {Genista raetam}]
       2: coniferous shrub or small tree with berrylike cones

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Juniper
     (Heb. rothem), called by the Arabs retem, and known as Spanish
     broom; ranked under the genus genista. It is a desert shrub, and
     abounds in many parts of Palestine. In the account of his
     journey from Akabah to Jerusalem, Dr. Robinson says: "This is
     the largest and most conspicuous shrub of these deserts, growing
     thickly in the water-courses and valleys. Our Arabs always
     selected the place of encampment, if possible, in a spot where
     it grew, in order to be sheltered by it at night from the wind;
     and during the day, when they often went on in advance of the
     camels, we found them not unfrequently sitting or sleeping under
     a bush of retem to shelter them from the sun. It was in this
     very desert, a day's journey from Beersheba, that the prophet
     Elijah lay down and slept beneath the same shrub" (1 Kings 19:4,
     5). It afforded material for fuel, and also in cases of
     extremity for human food (Ps. 120:4; Job 30:4). One of the
     encampments in the wilderness of Paran is called Rithmah, i.e.,
     "place of broom" (Num. 33:18).
     
       "The Bedawin of Sinai still burn this very plant into a
     charcoal which throws out the most intense heat."
     

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Juniper, GA
    Zip code(s): 31801