Word Study
osage orange
CIDE DICTIONARY
osage orange,
An ornamental tree of the genus Maclura (Maclura aurantiaca ), closely allied to the mulberry (Morus ); also, its fruit. The tree was first found in the country of the Osage Indians, and bears a hard and inedible fruit of an orangelike appearance. See Bois d'arc. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
osage orange, n.
1 a hardy thorny tree, Maclura pomifera, of the US, bearing inedible wrinkled orange-like fruit.
2 the durable orange-coloured timber from this.
1 a hardy thorny tree, Maclura pomifera, of the US, bearing inedible wrinkled orange-like fruit.
2 the durable orange-coloured timber from this.
Etymology
name of a N. American Indian tribe
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