Spruce

7 definitions found

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

  Spruce \Spruce\ (spr[udd]s), n. [OE. Spruce or Pruse, Prussia,
     Prussian. So named because it was first known as a native of
     Prussia, or because its sprouts were used for making, spruce
     beer. Cf. Spruce beer, below, {Spruce}, a.]
     1. (Bot.) Any coniferous tree of the genus {Picea}, as the
        Norway spruce ({Picea excelsa}), and the white and black


        spruces of America ({Picea alba} and {Picea nigra}),
        besides several others in the far Northwest. See {Picea}.
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     2. The wood or timber of the spruce tree.
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     3. Prussia leather; pruce. [Obs.]
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              Spruce, a sort of leather corruptly so called for
              Prussia leather.                      --E. Phillips.
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     {Douglas spruce} (Bot.), a valuable timber tree ({Pseudotsuga
        Douglasii}) of Northwestern America.
  
     {Essence of spruce}, a thick, dark-colored, bitterish, and
        acidulous liquid made by evaporating a decoction of the
        young branches of spruce.
  
     {Hemlock spruce} (Bot.), a graceful coniferous tree ({Tsuga
        Canadensis}) of North America. Its timber is valuable, and
        the bark is largely used in tanning leather.
  
     {Spruce beer}. [G. sprossenbier; sprosse sprout, shoot (akin
        to E. sprout, n.) + bier beer. The word was changed into
        spruce beer because the beer came from Prussia (OE.
        Spruce), or because it was made from the sprouts of the
        spruce. See {Sprout}, n., {Beer}, and cf. {Spruce}, n.] A
        kind of beer which is tinctured or flavored with spruce,
        either by means of the extract or by decoction.
  
     {Spruce grouse}. (Zool.) Same as {Spruce partridge}, below.
        
  
     {Spruce leather}. See {Spruce}, n., 3.
  
     {Spruce partridge} (Zool.), a handsome American grouse
        ({Dendragapus Canadensis}) found in Canada and the
        Northern United States; -- called also {Canada grouse}.
        [1913 Webster]

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

  Spruce \Spruce\ (spr[udd]s), a. [Compar. {Sprucer}
     (spr[udd]"s[~e]r); superl. {Sprucest} (spr[udd]"s[e^]st).]
     [Perhaps fr. spruce a sort of leather from Prussia, which was
     an article of finery. See {Spruce}, n.]
     1. Neat, without elegance or dignity; smart; trim; --
        formerly applied to things with a serious meaning; now
        chiefly applied to persons. "Neat and spruce array."
        --Remedy of Love.
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     2. Sprightly; dashing. [Obs.] "Now, my spruce companions."
        --Shak.
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              He is so spruce that he can never be genteel.
                                                    --Tatler.
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     Syn: Finical; neat; trim. See {Finical}.
          [1913 Webster] -- {Spruce"ly}, adv. -- {Spruce"ness}, n.
          [1913 Webster]

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

  Spruce \Spruce\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Spruced} (spr[udd]st); p.
     pr. & vb. n. {Sprucing} (spr[udd]"s[i^]ng).]
     To dress with affected neatness; to trim; to make spruce; --
     often used with up; as, to spruce up the house for Company.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Spruce \Spruce\, v. i.
     To dress one's self with affected neatness; as, to spruce up.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  spruce
       adj : marked by smartness in dress and manners; "a dapper young
             man"; "a jaunty red hat" [syn: {dapper}, {dashing}, {jaunty},
              {natty}, {raffish}, {rakish}, {smart}, {spiffy}, {snappy}]
       n 1: light soft moderately strong wood of spruce trees; used
            especially for timbers and millwork
       2: any coniferous tree of the genus Picea
       v 1: make neat, smart, or trim; "Spruce up your house for
            Spring"; "titivate the child" [syn: {spruce up}, {titivate},
             {tittivate}, {smarten up}, {slick up}, {spiff up}]
       2: dress and groom with particular care, as for a special
          occasion; "He spruced up for the party" [syn: {spruce up},
           {slick up}, {smarten up}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  78 Moby Thesaurus words for "spruce":
     anal, bandbox, bowdlerized, braw, chic, classy, clean up, cleaned,
     cleaned up, cleansed, clothes-conscious, cosmopolitan, dapper,
     dashing, dinky, doggy, dressed to advantage, dressed to kill,
     dressed up, elegant, en grande tenue, endimanche, expurgated,
     exquisite, genteel, gussied up, in full dress, in full feather,
     in high feather, in tails, jaunty, modish, natty, neat, nifty,
     nobby, posh, primp, purged, purified, recherche, refined, reformed,
     ritzy, sassy, sharp, shipshape, sleek, slick, slicked up, smart,
     smarten up, smug, snazzy, snug, soigne, soignee, sophisticated,
     spiffy, spruce up, straighten out, straighten up, style-conscious,
     stylish, swank, swanky, swell, tidy, tidy up, tight, titivate,
     tricksy, trig, trim, well turned-out, well-cared-for, well-dressed,
     well-groomed
  
  

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

  Spruce, MI
    Zip code(s): 48762