pine
pronunciation
How to pronounce pine in British English:
UK [paɪn]
How to pronounce pine in American English:
US [paɪn]
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- Noun:
- a coniferous tree
- straight-grained durable and often resinous white to yellowish timber of any of numerous trees of the genus Pinus
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- Verb:
- have a desire for something or someone who is not present
Word Origin
- pine
- pine: [OE] English has two words pine. The treename was borrowed from Latin pīnus, which some have traced to the Indo-European base *pīt- ‘resin’ (source of English pituitary [17]). Pine-cones were originally called pineapples [14], but in the mid 17th century the name was transferred to the tropical plant whose juicy yellow-fleshed fruit was held to resemble a pinecone.The Latin term for ‘pine-cone’ was pīnea, whose Vulgar Latin derivative *pīneolus has given English pinion ‘cog-wheel’ [17], and it seems likely that English pinnace [16] comes via French and Spanish from Vulgar Latin *pīnācea nāvis ‘ship made of pine-wood’. And the pinot noir [20] grape is etymologically the grape with ‘pine-cone’-shaped bunches. Pine ‘languish’ is a derivative of an unrecorded Old English noun *pīne ‘torture’, originally borrowed into Germanic from pēna, the post-classical descendant of Latin poena ‘penalty’ (source of English pain).=> pinion, pinnace, pituitary; pain
- pine (n.)
- "coniferous tree," Old English pin (in compounds), from Old French pin and directly from Latin pinus "pine, pine-tree, fir-tree," which is perhaps from a PIE *pi-nu-, from root *peie- "to be fat, swell" (see fat (adj.)). If so, the tree's name would be a reference to its sap or pitch. Compare Sanskrit pituh "juice, sap, resin," pitudaruh "pine tree," Greek pitys "pine tree." Also see pitch (n.1). Pine-top "cheap illicit whiskey," first recorded 1858, Southern U.S. slang. Pine-needle (n.) attested from 1866. Most of us have wished vaguely & vainly at times that they knew a fir from a pine. As the Scotch fir is not a fir strictly speaking, but a pine, & as we shall continue to ignore this fact, it is plain that the matter concerns the botanist more than the man in the street. [Fowler]
- pine (v.)
- Old English pinian "to torture, torment, afflict, cause to suffer," from *pine "pain, torture, punishment," possibly ultimately from Latin poena "punishment, penalty," from Greek poine (see penal). A Latin word borrowed into Germanic (Middle Dutch pinen, Old High German pinon, German Pein, Old Norse pina) with Christianity. Intransitive sense of "to languish, waste away," the main modern meaning, is first recorded early 14c. Related: Pined; pining.
Example
- 1. He is all pine and I am apple orchard .
- 2. Each pine log must be replaced every three days .
- 3. Worse , warmer winters have allowed pests like the mountain pine beetle to thrive .
- 4. Those who pine over a lost love might have a biological reason for their prolonged yearning .
- 5. Deep in the pine forest of east texas , a middle-aged couple sat stiffly on a bench .