Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Oak \Oak\ ([=o]k), n. [OE. oke, ok, ak, AS. [=a]c; akin to D.
eik, G. eiche, OHG. eih, Icel. eik, Sw. ek, Dan. eeg.]
1. (Bot.) Any tree or shrub of the genus {Quercus}. The oaks
have alternate leaves, often variously lobed, and
staminate flowers in catkins. The fruit is a smooth nut,
called an {acorn}, which is more or less inclosed in a
scaly involucre called the cup or cupule. There are now
recognized about three hundred species, of which nearly
fifty occur in the United States, the rest in Europe,
Asia, and the other parts of North America, a very few
barely reaching the northern parts of South America and
Africa. Many of the oaks form forest trees of grand
proportions and live many centuries. The wood is usually
hard and tough, and provided with conspicuous medullary
rays, forming the silver grain.
2. The strong wood or timber of the oak.
Note: Among the true oaks in America are:
{Barren oak}, or
{Black-jack}, {Q. nigra}.
{Basket oak}, {Q. Michauxii}.
{Black oak}, {Q. tinctoria}; -- called also {yellow} or
{quercitron oak}.
{Bur oak} (see under {Bur}.), {Q. macrocarpa}; -- called also
{over-cup} or {mossy-cup oak}.
{Chestnut oak}, {Q. Prinus} and {Q. densiflora}.
{Chinquapin oak} (see under {Chinquapin}), {Q. prinoides}.
{Coast live oak}, {Q. agrifolia}, of California; -- also
called {enceno}.
{Live oak} (see under {Live}), {Q. virens}, the best of all
for shipbuilding; also, {Q. Chrysolepis}, of California.
{Pin oak}. Same as {Swamp oak}.
{Post oak}, {Q. obtusifolia}.
{Red oak}, {Q. rubra}.
{Scarlet oak}, {Q. coccinea}.
{Scrub oak}, {Q. ilicifolia}, {Q. undulata}, etc.
{Shingle oak}, {Q. imbricaria}.
{Spanish oak}, {Q. falcata}.
{Swamp Spanish oak}, or
{Pin oak}, {Q. palustris}.
{Swamp white oak}, {Q. bicolor}.
{Water oak}, {Q. aguatica}.
{Water white oak}, {Q. lyrata}.
{Willow oak}, {Q. Phellos}. Among the true oaks in Europe
are:
{Bitter oak}, or
{Turkey oak}, {Q. Cerris} (see {Cerris}).
{Cork oak}, {Q. Suber}.
{English white oak}, {Q. Robur}.
{Evergreen oak},
{Holly oak}, or
{Holm oak}, {Q. Ilex}.
{Kermes oak}, {Q. coccifera}.
{Nutgall oak}, {Q. infectoria}.
Note: Among plants called oak, but not of the genus
{Quercus}, are:
{African oak}, a valuable timber tree ({Oldfieldia
Africana}).
{Australian, or She}, {oak}, any tree of the genus
{Casuarina} (see {Casuarina}).
{Indian oak}, the teak tree (see {Teak}).
{Jerusalem oak}. See under {Jerusalem}.
{New Zealand oak}, a sapindaceous tree ({Alectryon
excelsum}).
{Poison oak}, the poison ivy. See under {Poison}.
Source : WordNet®
quercitron oak
n : medium to large deciduous timber tree of the eastern United
States and southeastern Canada having dark outer bark and
yellow inner bark used for tanning; broad 5-lobed leaves
are bristle-tipped [syn: {black oak}, {yellow oak}, {quercitron},
{Quercus velutina}]