bois d'arc

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French bois d'arc (“bow wood”). So called because it was used for bows by the Indians of western North America.

Pronunciation

Noun

bois d'arc (countable and uncountable, plural bois d'arcs)

  1. An Osage orange tree, of species Maclura pomifera, or wood of this tree.
    Synonyms: (wood) bow-wood, bodark, bo'dark
    • 1880, US Census, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
      The bois d'arc seems to be the characteristic growth of the black prairies.
    • 1987, Terry, Marshall, Ringer‎[1], Corona Pub. Co., page 227:
      Eliza liked to be able to get up from her bed or the little chair from her former apartment and climb the two steps into the bluecarpeted livingroom and be able to see the bois d’arcs standing sturdily along the line of the front walk.
    • 2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 107:
      We carried the big ohapuupi seeds with us, planting them anywhere they might grow, and as this had been done by the various tribes for hundreds or maybe thousands of years, bois d'arc trees were found all along the plains.

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