Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Yew \Yew\, n. [OE. ew, AS. e['o]w, [=i]w, eoh; akin to D. ijf,
   OHG. [=i]wa, [=i]ha, G. eibe, Icel. [=y]r; cf. Ir. iubhar,
   Gael. iubhar, iughar, W. yw, ywen, Lith. j["e]va the black
   alder tree.]
   1. (Bot.) An evergreen tree ({Taxus baccata}) of Europe,
      allied to the pines, but having a peculiar berrylike fruit
      instead of a cone. It frequently grows in British
      churchyards.

   2. The wood of the yew. It is light red in color, compact,
      fine-grained, and very elastic. It is preferred to all
      other kinds of wood for bows and whipstocks, the best for
      these purposes coming from Spain.

   Note: The {American yew} ({Taxus baccata}, var. {Canadensis})
         is a low and straggling or prostrate bush, never
         forming an erect trunk. The {California yew} ({Taxus
         brevifolia}) is a good-sized tree, and its wood is used
         for bows, spear handles, paddles, and other similar
         implements. Another yew is found in Florida, and there
         are species in Japan and the Himalayas.

   3. A bow for shooting, made of the yew.

Source : WordNet®

California yew
     n : small or medium irregularly branched tree of the Pacific
         coast of North America; yields fine hard close-grained
         wood [syn: {Pacific yew}, {western yew}, {Taxus
         brevifolia}]