Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Willow \Wil"low\, n. [OE. wilowe, wilwe, AS. wilig, welig; akin
to OD. wilge, D. wilg, LG. wilge. Cf. {Willy}.]
1. (Bot.) Any tree or shrub of the genus {Salix}, including
many species, most of which are characterized often used
as an emblem of sorrow, desolation, or desertion. ``A
wreath of willow to show my forsaken plight.'' --Sir W.
Scott. Hence, a lover forsaken by, or having lost, the
person beloved, is said to wear the willow.
And I must wear the willow garland For him that's
dead or false to me. --Campbell.
2. (Textile Manuf.) A machine in which cotton or wool is
opened and cleansed by the action of long spikes
projecting from a drum which revolves within a box studded
with similar spikes; -- probably so called from having
been originally a cylindrical cage made of willow rods,
though some derive the term from winnow, as denoting the
winnowing, or cleansing, action of the machine. Called
also {willy}, {twilly}, {twilly devil}, and {devil}.
{Almond willow}, {Pussy willow}, {Weeping willow}. (Bot.) See
under {Almond}, {Pussy}, and {Weeping}.
{Willow biter} (Zo["o]l.) the blue tit. [Prov. Eng.]
{Willow fly} (Zo["o]l.), a greenish European stone fly
({Chloroperla viridis}); -- called also {yellow Sally}.
{Willow gall} (Zo["o]l.), a conical, scaly gall produced on
willows by the larva of a small dipterous fly ({Cecidomyia
strobiloides}).
{Willow grouse} (Zo["o]l.), the white ptarmigan. See
{ptarmigan}.
{Willow lark} (Zo["o]l.), the sedge warbler. [Prov. Eng.]
{Willow ptarmigan} (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The European reed bunting, or black-headed bunting.
See under {Reed}.
(b) A sparrow ({Passer salicicolus}) native of Asia,
Africa, and Southern Europe.
{Willow tea}, the prepared leaves of a species of willow
largely grown in the neighborhood of Shanghai, extensively
used by the poorer classes of Chinese as a substitute for
tea. --McElrath.
{Willow thrush} (Zo["o]l.), a variety of the veery, or
Wilson's thrush. See {Veery}.
{Willow warbler} (Zo["o]l.), a very small European warbler
({Phylloscopus trochilus}); -- called also {bee bird},
{haybird}, {golden wren}, {pettychaps}, {sweet William},
{Tom Thumb}, and {willow wren}.
Goldcrest \Gold"crest`\, n. (Zo["o]l.)
The European golden-crested kinglet ({Regulus cristatus}, or
{R. regulus}); -- called also {golden-crested wren}, and
{golden wren}. The name is also sometimes applied to the
American golden-crested kinglet. See {Kinglet}.