Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Spruce \Spruce\, 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 ({P. excelsa}), and the white and black
      spruces of America ({P. alba} and {P. nigra}), besides
      several others in the far Northwest. See {Picea}.

   2. The wood or timber of the spruce tree.

   3. Prussia leather; pruce. [Obs.]

            Spruce, a sort of leather corruptly so called for
            Prussia leather.                      --E. Phillips.

   {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 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}. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Spruce partridge},
      below.

   {Spruce leather}. See {Spruce}, n., 3.

   {Spruce partridge} (Zo["o]l.), a handsome American grouse
      ({Dendragapus Canadensis}) found in Canada and the
      Northern United States; -- called also {Canada grouse}.



   {Red chalk}. See under {Chalk}.

   {Red copper} (Min.), red oxide of copper; cuprite.

   {Red coral} (Zo["o]l.), the precious coral ({Corallium
      rubrum}). See Illusts. of {Coral} and {Gorgonlacea}.

   {Red cross}. The cross of St. George, the national emblem of
      the English.
   (b) The Geneva cross. See {Geneva convention}, and {Geneva
       cross}, under {Geneva}.

   {Red currant}. (Bot.) See {Currant}.

   {Red deer}. (Zo["o]l.)
   (a) The common stag ({Cervus elaphus}), native of the forests
       of the temperate parts of Europe and Asia. It is very
       similar to the American elk, or wapiti.
   (b) The Virginia deer. See {Deer}.

   {Red duck} (Zo["o]l.), a European reddish brown duck
      ({Fuligula nyroca}); -- called also {ferruginous duck}.

   {Red ebony}. (Bot.) See {Grenadillo}.

   {Red empress} (Zo["o]l.), a butterfly. See {Tortoise shell}.
      

   {Red fir} (Bot.), a coniferous tree ({Pseudotsuga Douglasii})
      found from British Columbia to Texas, and highly valued
      for its durable timber. The name is sometimes given to
      other coniferous trees, as the Norway spruce and the
      American {Abies magnifica} and {A. nobilis}.

   {Red fire}. (Pyrotech.) See {Blue fire}, under {Fire}.

   {Red flag}. See under {Flag}.

   {Red fox} (Zo["o]l.), the common American fox ({Vulpes
      fulvus}), which is usually reddish in color.

   {Red grouse} (Zo["o]l.), the Scotch grouse, or ptarmigan. See
      under {Ptarmigan}.

   {Red gum}, or {Red gum-tree} (Bot.), a name given to eight
      Australian species of {Eucalyptus} ({Eucalyptus
      amygdalina}, {resinifera}, etc.) which yield a reddish gum
      resin. See {Eucalyptus}.

   {Red hand} (Her.), a left hand appaum['e], fingers erect,
      borne on an escutcheon, being the mark of a baronet of the
      United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; -- called
      also {Badge of Ulster}.

   {Red herring}, the common herring dried and smoked.