cypressn.1
/ˈsʌɪprɛs/ 1.
a. A well-known coniferous tree, Cupressus sempervirens, a native of Iran and the eastern Mediterranean, extensively cultivated in Western Asia and Southern Europe, with hard durable wood and dense dark foliage; often regarded as symbolic of mourning (see 1c). Hence, the English name of the genus.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular timber trees or shrubs > [noun] > cypress as timber tree
cypressa1400
cypre14..
cypress-tree1535
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 1377 Cedre, ciprese [Fairf. cipres, Gött. cipris], and pine.
a1400 Pistill of Susan 69 Þe sauyne and sypres, selcouþ to sene.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. x. 47 The cipres berand hych thair bewis.
1551 W. Turner Herball (1568) i. N iij b The lefe of Cypres neuer falleth, but is euer grene.
1616 J. Bullokar Eng. Expositor Cypresse, a tree..very tall and slender, the tymber whereof is yellowish and of a pleasant smell.
1797 A. Radcliffe Italian I. vi. 164 A garden, shaded with avenues of melancholy cypress.
1872 D. Oliver Lessons Elem. Bot. (new ed.) 247 The wood of Cypress..is almost imperishable; the gates of Constantinople made of this wood lasted 1,100 years.
b. The wood of this tree.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood of specific trees > [noun] > cypress
cypressc1386
cypress-wood1861
c1386 G. Chaucer Sir Thopas 170 His spere was of fine cipres.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 8007 Þu sal find þa wandis þare,..Of cydyr, pyne, and of cypress.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 3684 Þe solers was of Sypirs.
1474 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 592 My wryghtyng box of sypresse.
1504 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 98 My coffyr of syprys.
1531 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 37 A..tabull of sypars.
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 261 Into a coffer of Ciprus..he shut it vp.
1673 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 8 6015 Another sort of wood, called Cypress..better than any Pine for Masts.
c. The branches or sprigs of the tree, used at funerals, or as a symbol of mourning. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > obsequies > formal or ceremonial mourning > [noun] > plants or trees as signs of mourning
yewa1450
rosemary1559
cypress1590
willow-branch1622
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. i. sig. N7v The great earthes wombe they open to the sky, And with sad Cypresse seemely it embraue.
1591 E. Spenser Daphnaïda lxxvi Vouchsafe to deck the same [a hearse] with Cyparesse.
1695 M. Prior Ode after Queen's Death v Let the King dismiss his Woes..And take the Cypress from his Brows.
1762 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy VI. xxxii. 128 'Tis one thing for a soldier to gather laurels,—and 'tis another to scatter cypress.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxxii. 114 But that remorseless iron hour Made cypress of her orange flower. View more context for this quotation
2.
a. Applied to various trees or shrubs allied to the true cypress, as African cypress n. the genus Widdringtonia (Miller Plant-n.). bald cypress n. (or black cypress, deciduous cypress) Taxodium distichum. embossed cypress n. the Chinese genus Glyptostrobus. Japanese cypress n. the genus Retinospora. swamp cypress n. the genus Chamæcyparis (Miller).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > conifers > [noun] > other conifers
juniper1748
bald cypress1785
Norfolk Island pine1803
Norfolk pine1804
taxodium1821
kahikatea1823
Moreton Bay pine1826
mai1831
matai1831
white pine1833
podocarp1846
black rue1864
plum fir1866
cephalotaxus1883
hoop-pine1884
mountain hemlock1884
tide-land spruce1891
kahika1921
Leyland's cypress1933
Metasequoia1941
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > conifers > cypresses > [noun] > types of cypress
Italian cypress1838
retinospora1861
Japanese cypress1866
Macnab cypress1881
Shasta cypress1897
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xxviii. 447 Deciduous Cypress has the leaves in two ranks, and spreading: it is a native of America.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 967 Retinospora..R. obtusa, the Japanese Cypress..very fine forest tree, eighty or more feet high.
b. Applied to various plants taken to resemble the cypress-tree, as broom cypress n. Kochia scoparia. dwarf cypress n. heath cypress n. names proposed by Turner for Lycopodium alpinum. summer cypress n. Kochia scoparia. See also field cypress n. at field n.1 Compounds 4a, garden cypress n. at garden n. Compounds 5b, standing cypress n. at standing adj. and n.2 Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > moss > [noun] > club-moss or moss-like ferns
dwarf cypress1548
heath-cypress1551
pine1551
wolf's-claw1578
club-moss1597
wolf-claw1597
wolf's-foot1597
tree-moss1611
Selagoa1627
cypress-moss1640
mountain moss1688
lycopodium1706
stag's horn (also staghorn) moss1741
walking fern1814
tod-tails1820
Robin Hood's hatband1828
resurrection plant1841
ground-pine1847
forks and knives1853
fir club-moss1855
lycopod1861
Selaginella1865
foxtail1866
stag-head or stag's head moss1869
fir-moss1879
hog-bed1900
c1000 Sax Leechd. I. 116 Genim þa ylcan wyrte & cypressum, & dracentsan & hunig.]
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. C.iv Chamaecyparissus..may be called in englishe heath Cypres; because it groweth amonge heath, or dwarfe Cypres.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. xviii. 28 Called..in English..Ground Pyne, Herbe Iue, Forget me not, and field Cypres.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. xix. 29 Some call it in English Lauender Cotton, and som Garden Cypres.
1878–86 J. Britten & R. Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-names Cypress..2. Tamarix gallica.—Cornw.
Compounds
C1. attributive.
a. Of cypress or cypress-wood.
ΚΠ
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 270/2 Sypres chest, coffre de cypres.
1597 in G. J. Piccope Lancs. & Cheshire Wills (1860) II. 228 A Cypresse chest standing in the like parlour.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 347 In Iuory cofers I haue stuft my crownes: In Cypres chests my arras counterpoints. View more context for this quotation
b. Resembling the foliage or shade of a cypress; cypress-like; dark, gloomy, funereal.
ΚΠ
1659 T. Pecke Parnassi Puerperium 67 Great was Macedo; but the Stagyrite, As much out shin'd; as bright Day, Cypress Night.
1870 Athenæum 19 Nov. 665 Plenty of cypress sentimentality in Kensal Green.
C2. General attributive.
a.
cypress-arbour n.
cypress-bough n.
ΚΠ
1720 J. Gay Dione i. i, in Poems II. 434 Black Cypress boughs their drooping heads adorn.
cypress brake n.
ΚΠ
1868 Putnam's Mag. May 592/1 One would not..be surprised..to hear a[n] iguanodon crashing..through yon cypress-brake.
cypress-bud n.
cypress-cone n.
cypress-grove n.
ΚΠ
1812 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Cantos I & II ii. xxxvii. 79 The pale crescent sparkles..Through many a cypress grove.
cypress-leaf n.
cypress plank n.
ΚΠ
1725 Maryland Hist. Mag. 7 279 The new Covering the shed of the Vestry house with feather edged Cyprus Plank.
cypress-shade n.
cypress shingle n.
ΚΠ
1724 Maryland Hist. Mag. 6 1 [The house] was well shingled with good cypress shingles.
1785 G. Washington Diaries II. 411 Bought 28,430 good Cyprus shingles.
1828 Deb. Congr. 2 Apr. 2112 60,000 Cypress Shingles.
cypress-spire n.
cypress-timber n.
cypress-tree n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular timber trees or shrubs > [noun] > cypress as timber tree
cypressa1400
cypre14..
cypress-tree1535
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ecclus. xxiv. 13 As a Cypers tre vpon the mount Hermon.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna v. liv. 125 The banquet..Was spread beneath many a dark cypress tree.
cypress-wood n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood of specific trees > [noun] > cypress
cypressc1386
cypress-wood1861
1861 E. A. Beaufort Egypt. Sepulchres II. xxiv. 324 A very fine hall..with a ceiling of cypress wood.
cypress-wreath n.
b.
cypress-crowned adj.
ΚΠ
1829 W. M. Praed Poems (1865) I. 359 Pale, cypress-crowned.
cypress-like adj.
C3. † cypress-nut n. Obsolete the roundish fruit or cone of the cypress.
cypress-apple n. the fruit or cone of the cypress.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > conifers > cypresses > [noun] > cypress cone or cypress-knee
cypress-apple1712
cypress-knee1784
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 148 Its Fruit, call'd the Cypress-Apple.
cypress gall n. U.S. (see quot. 1837).
ΚΠ
1819 E. Dana Geogr. Sketches 173 The cypress galls, (so called), the poorest species of land, have, below their surface, veins of a remarkably fine clay.
1837 J. L. Williams Territory of Florida 89 Pine barren swamps..when covered with small coast cypress trees and knees, are usually, but improperly, termed cypress galls.
cypress-knee n. a large woody tumour occurring on the roots of Taxodium ( Treasury Bot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > conifers > cypresses > [noun] > cypress cone or cypress-knee
cypress-apple1712
cypress-knee1784
1784 J. F. D. Smyth Tour U.S.A. II. 235 Cypress knees, closely intermixed with a matted body of strong fibrous roots.
1791 W. Bartram Trav. N. & S. Carolina 91 From these roots grow woody cones, called cypress knees, four, five, and six feet high.
1817 S. R. Brown Western Gazetteer 145 A number of conical excrescences rising from its base to the height of eight or ten feet, called cypress knees.
1836 Southern Lit. Messenger 2 288 His tail..mounted suddenly upwards like a cypress knee.
1875 E. King Southern States N. Amer. 383 The gleaming water out of which rise thousands of ‘cypress-knees’.
1889 Science 13 176/2 Processes..sufficiently developed to be classed in importance with the cypress knees.
cypress-moss n. the Alpine or Savin Club-moss ( Lycopodium alpinum); also the moss Hypnum cupressiforme.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > moss > [noun] > club-moss or moss-like ferns
dwarf cypress1548
heath-cypress1551
pine1551
wolf's-claw1578
club-moss1597
wolf-claw1597
wolf's-foot1597
tree-moss1611
Selagoa1627
cypress-moss1640
mountain moss1688
lycopodium1706
stag's horn (also staghorn) moss1741
walking fern1814
tod-tails1820
Robin Hood's hatband1828
resurrection plant1841
ground-pine1847
forks and knives1853
fir club-moss1855
lycopod1861
Selaginella1865
foxtail1866
stag-head or stag's head moss1869
fir-moss1879
hog-bed1900
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum Cypress-moss, Lycopodium alpinum.
1769 J. Wallis Nat. Hist. Northumberland I. viii. 282 Creeping Cypress-Moss, or Heath-Moss is frequent on Cheviot.
cypress pine n. Australian a tree of the genus Callitris.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > conifers > [noun] > cypress pine
red pine1760
callitris1814
Oyster Bay pine1832
cypress pine1847
Murray pine1853
mountain pine1910
1847 F. W. L. Leichhardt Jrnl. Overland Exped. Austral. i. 13 It was covered with cypress-pine, and an Acacia.
1885 Spons' Mechanics' Own Bk. 131 Cypress pine (Callitris columellaris) is a plentiful tree in Queensland.
1936 F. Clune Roaming round Darling ix. 76 Box-trees and cypress-pines in plenty.
1967 A. M. Blombery Guide Native Austral. Plants iii. 108 Cupressaceae. A family..including the well-known native Callitris (Cypress Pine).
cypress-spurge n. Euphorbium Cyparissias (called by Lyte cypress tithymal).
ΚΠ
1707 tr. P. Le Lorrain de Vallemont Curiosities in Husbandry & Gardening 154 The Wood-Spurge, the Cipress-Spurge, and the Mirtle Spurge.
cypress-swamp n. U.S. A swamp having a growth of cypress.
ΚΠ
1736 J. Wesley Jrnl. 22 Dec. In an hour or two we came to a cypress-swamp.
1737 J. Wesley Jrnl. 2 Dec. Cypress-swamps are mostly large ponds, in and round which cypresses grow.
1766 J. Bartram Jrnl. (1769) 11 A cypress-swamp, at the upper end of which oaks and palmettos join the river.
1817 S. R. Brown Western Gazetteer 11 Canebrakes along the river; and sometimes cypress swamps.
1868 Putnam's Mag. May 594/2 Stretching..in the rear of these great sugar-estates are the immense cypress-swamps of Louisiana.
1886 Outing (U.S.) 8 59/2 In the lonely fastnesses of a cypress swamp with only the alligator for company.
cypress tithymal n. (see cypress-spurge n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Euphorbiaceae (spurges and allies) > [noun]
catapucec1386
Euphorbiaa1398
spurgea1400
tithymala1400
faitour's grassc1440
cat's-grassc1450
nettlewort1523
essell1527
lint-spurge1548
sea wartwort1548
spurge thyme1548
line-spurge1562
myrtle spurge1562
sun spurge1562
wolf's-milk1575
cypress tithymal1578
devil's milk1578
mercury1578
sea-spurge1597
sun tithymal1597
welcome to our house1597
wood-spurge1597
Euphorbium1606
milk-reed1611
milkwort1640
sun-turning spurge1640
spurge-wort1647
caper-bush1673
Portland spurge1715
milkweed1736
Medusa's head1760
little-good1808
welcome-home-husband1828
three-seeded mercury1846
cat's-milk1861
turnsole1863–79
mole-tree1864
snow-on-the-mountain1873
seven sisters1879
caper-plant1882
asthma herb1887
mountain snow1889
crown of thorns1890
olifants melkbos1898
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. xxix. 359 The fifth kinde called Cypres Tithymal.
cypress-vine n. a name of several American species of Ipomæa, convolvulaceous climbing plants.
ΚΠ
1857 A. Gray First Less. Bot. (1866) 101 The corolla of the Phlox..and of the Cypress-Vine are of this sort.
1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 205 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Cypress vine, (Quamoclit vulgaris).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† cypressn.2
Obsolete.
The Sweet Cyperus or Galingale.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > sedges > Cyperus or English galingale
earthnutc1300
cypressc1430
galangala1500
English galingale?1550
Cyperus1597
nut grass1750
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > medicine composed of a plant > [noun] > plant used in medicine > root > specific roots
zedoaryOE
madderOE
setwall?c1225
liquoricec1275
rhubarba1400
ireosc1400
liquorice-racec1400
sage root14..
maple root1523
liquorice-root1530
rhabarbarum1533
orris1545
turmeric1545
cypressc1550
pyrethrum1562
china1582
China root1588
orris root1598
red squill1629
ginseng1654
ague root1676
poke root1687
cassumunar1693
nettle root1707
valerian root1747
belly-ache-root1775
Indian root1775
Turkey rhubarb1789
sumbul1791
serpentaria1803
Honduras sarsaparilla1818
serpentary1837
sang1843
savanilla1856
manaca1866
gelsemium1875
sanguinaria1875
Indian turmeric1890
c1430 Two Cookery-bks. 21 Vyaund de cyprys bastarde..take whyte Gyngere, and Galyngale, and Canel fayre y-mynced.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 53 I sau..cipresses that is gude for the fluxis of the bellye.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 182 Against Tikes, Lyce, and Fleas, annoint the Dogs with bitter Almonds..or Roots of Maple, or Cipers.
1712 J. Browne tr. P. Pomet et al. Compl. Hist. Druggs I. 35 Long Cypress..is a knotty Root.
1756 G. Smith tr. Laboratory (new ed.) II. xv. 301 Add one drachm of the powder of cypress.
Compounds
cypress-powder n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > fragrance > [noun] > fragrant substance or perfume > specifically
ewrosec1350
stacte1382
oil of rosesa1398
rose watera1398
sandalc1400
musk?a1425
damask water?1520
malabathrum1543
orris1545
civet1553
ambracan1555
rose cake1559
lavender-water1563
oil of spikenard1565
zibet1594
orange-flower water1595
orris powder?1600
spike-oil1611
angel water1634
cypress-powder1634
angelica1653
jasmine1670
jessamy1671
rosat1674
frangipane1676
marechale1676
orangery1676
tuberose1682
jasmine-water1750
otto1759
rose geranium1773
millefleurs1775
new-mown hay1789
attar1798
eau-de-Cologne1802
Cologne1814
dedes1817
eau de Portugal1825
verbena1837
rondeletia1838
bay-rum1840
Florida water1840
citronelle1841
patchouli1843
citronella1849
gardenia1851
sandalwood oil1851
Ess Bouquet1855
marmala water1857
mignonette1858
spikenard oil1861
sandalwood1865
serpolet1866
ylang-ylang1876
flower-water1886
lily1890
lilac1895
stephanotis1895
tea rose1897
chypre1898
Peau d'Espagne1898
violette de Parme1904
poppy1905
Parma violet1907
wallflower1907
1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 99 Enjoyning me never to goe to the Warres, but when Muskets are charged with Cypres-powder.
1652 T. Urquhart Εκσκυβαλαυρον 108 (Like another Sejanus) with a Periwig daubed with Cypres powder.
1790 W. Woodville Med. Bot. I. 75 (note) The root [of Arum maculatum] is used by the French to wash the skin with..under the name of Cypress Powder.
cypress-root n.
ΚΠ
1879 R. C. A. Prior On Pop. Names Brit. Plants (ed. 3) 61 Cypress-root, or Sweet Cypress..a plant the aromatic roots of which are known as English galingale, Cyperus longus.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
† cypressn.3
Obsolete or dialect.
1. A name of several textile fabrics originally imported from or through Cyprus:in extended use.1712 J. Warder True Amazons 3 Having four Wings..with strong Fibres round and cross them, to strengthen the fine Cypress of which they are framed.
a. A cloth of gold or other valuable material.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > interwoven with metallic thread
tissue?a1366
cypress14..
cloth of goldc1405
imperialc1435
gold webc1475
tinsel1523
cloth of silver1530
imperial clotha1553
tinsey1685
lama1818
lamé1922
kain songket1949
c1400 Inv. in Sir F. Palgrave Kal. & Invent. Treas. III. 358 Primerement, xxv draps d'or de diverses suytes dount iiii. de Cipre les autres de Lukes.]
14.. W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xv. 224 (MS. O.) Clenlich ycloþed in cipres [MS. C. cipyrs; B. purpre] and in tartaryne.
a1440 Sir Degrev. 1482 The scochenus of many knyȝt Of gold and cyprus was i-dyȝt.
b. A valuable quality of satin, called more fully satin of Cypres, satin Cypres.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > with glossy or shiny surface > satin > types of
fuger1465
Bruges satin1502
cypress1509
Bruges1552
satinesco1615
siper1805
satin de chine1833
duchesse satin1878
1509–10 Kingston-upon-Thames Borough Rec. in D. Lysons Environs of London (1792) I. 227 Saten of sypers.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 265/1 Sattyn of cypres—ostadine.
1533 in F. W. Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 27 A Sondays gowne of blak lyned with sattyn of sypers.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxix Long and large garmentes of Blewe satten pauned with Sipres, poudered with spangles of Bullion Golde.
1552–3 Inv. Ch. Goods, Staff. in Ann. Litchfield IV. 39 On redde vestement of saten sipars with all things to hitt.
1603 in 38th Rep. Deputy Keeper Public Rec. (1877) 444 in Parl. Papers (C. 1747) XLVI. 1 Fustyans of Naples..Paris clothes..sattins of Cipres, Spanish sattins.
c. esp. (= cypress lawn) A light transparent material resembling cobweb lawn or crape; like the latter it was, when black, much used for habiliments of mourning.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > thin, light, or delicate
valencec1381
Paris crisp1400
rill1440
tuke1477
utter-fine1529
Worcester1551
cypress1577
borato1578
burat1588
quintain1674
tissue1732
zephyrine1820
summer weight1873
Palm Beach1913
sheer1934
1398 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1836) I. 240 Unum [velum] de cypres.
1402 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1836) I. 289 ij flameola de cipres.]
1577 R. Willes in R. Willes & R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Hist. Trauayle W. & E. Indies f. 260 With two Oxe hornes, as it were, made of fine cypres hangyng downe about theyr eares.
1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. N3v A hundred pages in sutes of white cipresse.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 220 Lawne as white as driuen Snow, Cypresse blacke as ere was Crow. View more context for this quotation
1616 B. Jonson Epigrammes lxxiii, in Wks. I. 788 One halfe drawne In solemne cypres, the other cob-web-lawne.
1678 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Cipress, a fine curled Stuff, part Silk, part Hair, of a Cobweb thinness, of which Hoods for Women are made.
1721 London Gaz. No. 5930/1 Officers wearing Mourning-Scarfs of Cypress.
1722 London Gaz. No. 6084/4 The Colours furled and wrapped in Cypress.
1820 W. Scott Monastery II. iv. 148 The murrey-coloured double-piled Genoa velvet, puffed out with ciprus.]
2. A piece of cypress used as a kerchief for the neck or head, as a band for the hat, etc., in sign of mourning, and the like.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for head or neck or body > [noun] > kerchief > piece of material used as
cypress1530
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > parts of headgear > [noun] > band > piece of material used as
cypress1530
the world > life > death > obsequies > formal or ceremonial mourning > [noun] > mourning drapery > type of cloth
cypressa1717
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 205/2 Cypres for a womans necke, crespe.
?1544 J. Heywood Foure PP sig. B.i Sypers swathbondes rybandes and sleue laces.
1609 T. Dekker Guls Horne-bk. sig. D2v Him that weares a trebled cipers about his hatte.
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Velaregli, shadowes, vailes, Launes, Scarfes, Sipres or Bonegraces that women vse to weare.
1612 W. Fennor Cornu-copiæ 55 His hat..With treble Sypers, and with veluet lin'd.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) iii. i. 131 A Cipresse, not a bosome, Hides my heart. View more context for this quotation
a1717 T. Parnell Night Piece on Death 72 Why then thy flowing sable stoles, Deep pendant cypress, mourning poles.
3. attributive (or adj.).
a. Of cypress.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [adjective] > thin, light, or delicate
lightc1230
small1473
cypress1530
sheer1565
sleazy1670
zephyr1809
slim1813
arachnean1854
spring weight1869
chiffon1890
frothy1901
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 173 Crespine, a cypres lynyn clothe.
1607 ‘W. S.’ Puritaine sig. A3 (stage direct.) Enter the Lady Widdow—Plus, her two Daughters.., her husbands Brother.., with her Sonne and heyre Maister Edmond, all in moorning apparell, Edmond in a Cypresse Hatte.
1645 J. Milton Il Penseroso in Poems 38 Sable stole of Cipres Lawn.
1677 J. Phillips tr. J.-B. Tavernier Persian Trav. i. ii. 10 in tr. J.-B. Tavernier Six Voy. (1678) The Travellers are wont to wear black Cypress Hoods..over their Faces.
b. Resembling cypress in texture; gauze-like.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > other specific kinds of texture > [adjective] > fine
smalleOE
subtlea1382
subtilea1398
finec1400
tearc1400
delicate?a1425
fine-spuna1555
filmy1604
cypress1605
thin-spun1638
curious1665
filmlike1804
feathery1864
pinpoint1899
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vii. 253 Th' onely Spider..neat and nimbly her new web she weaues..Open, least else th' vngentle Windes should teare Hir cipres Tent.
1712 J. Warder True Amazons 31 Not only Bees, but all other Creatures having a Cypress wing.
c. Dark grey with darker markings; hence cyprus-cat, a variety of tabby cat (local).
ΚΠ
1857 T. Wright Dict. Obsolete & Provinc. Eng. Cypress-cat, a tabby-cat, East.
1879 R. Lubbock Fauna of Norfolk 7 An immense cat of a cypress colour.
1887 Notes & Queries 7th Ser. 4 289/1 While discussing the merits of a new kitten recently with a lady from Norwich, she described its colour as ‘Cyprus’—dark grey, with black stripes and markings.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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