osier

Borrowed from French osier (“basket willow, withy”)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈəʊzɪə/, /ˈəʊʒə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈoʊʒəɹ/
• Rhymes: -əʊʒə(ɹ)

osier (countable and uncountable, plural osiers)

1. A willow, of species Salix viminalis, growing in wet places in Europe and Asia, and introduced into North America, considered the best willow for wickerwork.

   Synonym: common osier

2. (loosely) Any kind of willow.
3. (countable, uncountable) Long, pliable twigs of this plant, or of other similar plants.
   • 1906, E. Nesbit, The Story of the Amulet:

     She pulled half a dozen fine fish out of the water within the reeds, killing each as she took it out, and threading it on a long osier that she carried. Then she knotted the osier, hung it on her arm, picked up the pitcher, and turned to come back.

   • 1952, L.F. Salzman, Building in England, page 188:

     Wattling consists of a row of upright stakes the spaces between which are more or less filled by interweaving small branches, hazel rods, osiers, reeds, thin strips of wood, or other pliant material.

• EROIs, rosie, sorie, Siero, Rosie, Ieros

Inherited from Old French osier, hosier, hosyere (compare Medieval Latin ausēria (“willow-bed”)), from Frankish *halster (compare Low German Halster, Hilster (“bay willow”)), according to Pokorny, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁el- (“brownish, red”) or *h₂élis- (“alder”).^[1]

Alternatively from Medieval Latin ausēria (“willow-bed”), from Gaulish *awesā (“riverbed”) (compare Breton aoz (“riverbed”)), from Proto-Celtic *auos (“river”) (presumably related to Proto-Germanic *ahwō), which could also be present in the French place name Avoise.^[2]

• IPA^(key): /o.zje/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

osier m (plural osiers)

1. (countable) osier (tree)
2. (uncountable) wicker
3. (tree) willow

• oseraie

• “osier”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• seoir, seroi