evergreenadj.n.
/ˈɛvəˌɡriːn/, U.S. /ˈɛvərˌɡrin/ A. adj.
1.
a. Of a tree, shrub, etc.: having green foliage all the year round. Contrasted with deciduous.In trees of this kind, the leaves are replaced gradually throughout the year rather than all at once.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by age or cycles > [adjective] > evergreen or ever-blooming
evergreen1593
everbearing1597
everblooming1600
still-green1603
perennialc1660
sempervirent1668
evergrowing1843
sempervirid1909
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 15 A sweating Impe of the euer-greene Laurell.
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iii. 93 Th' euer-greene Boxe, and gummie Cedar sprout.
1683 J. Reid Gard'ners Kalendar 3 in Scots Gard'ner Shelter tender evergreen seedlings.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 186 When your Ever-green Trees and Shrubs are got to some Height.
1765 J. Bartram Diary 19 Sept. in Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. (1942) 33 27/1 I saw here several of true evergreen casseena which ye creek indians generaly plant in all thair settlements making much use of it dayly.
1812 Jackson's Oxf. Jrnl. 12 Dec. A quantity of evergreen shrubs in pots.
1892 Trans. Highland & Agric. Soc. Scotl. 4 64 Crawberry (Emperum nigrum) is another hardy evergreen plant that inhabits dry rocky hills.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 90/4 The garden has seven different kinds of evergreen trees.
1988 E. C. Pielou World Northern Evergreens i. 5 An evergreen conifer..does not have to grow a whole new set of leaves every spring.
2005 C. Tudge Secret Life Trees ii. 41 Foresters and timber traders in particular have applied the term ‘pine’ to just about anything that has needly leaves and is evergreen.
b. Of a leaf: lasting until the following season of growth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > [adjective] > deciduous or evergreen
evergreen1629
leaf-shedding1735
indeciduous1755
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 551 There be diuers trees and shrubs mentioned here in this booke that beare euer greene leaues.
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ 86 This Plant deserves a principal place amongst our Trees for Fences, it yielding a very strong, and firm prickly branch, and ever green-leaves.
1742 W. Ellis Timber-tree Improved (ed. 3) II. xxxvi. 179 It will shade and shelter [Arbours] with its ever-green Leaves to great Perfection.
1787 W. Withering Bot. Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 2) I. 169 Ilex. Leaves surrounded by a strong woody border; tough, shining, evergreen.
1861 A. Pratt Flowering Plants & Ferns Great Brit. III. 357 Leaves, which are often rigid and evergreen.
1882 Notts. Guardian Suppl. 6 Jan. 1/7 Not a laurel or evergreen leaf of any kind is without its deposits of soot.
1938 Amer. Home Jan. 14/3 Delicately scented white flowers, borne always in twos, on erect stems rising above the glossy evergreen leaves.
1998 A. Sturgeon Planted 53/1 Sticks and bits of woody plants and evergreen leaves take ages to rot.
2015 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 19 Apr. They say the branches of the [yew] tree, which has girth of over 38ft and vast canopy, are starting to wilt and its evergreen leaves have begun to fall.
c. Of or relating to an evergreen tree or shrub; (of woodland, forest, etc.) consisting wholly or largely of evergreen trees or shrubs.
ΚΠ
1670 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 2) xxv. 124 Lignum vitæ, the Æthiopic Seseli, Halimus Latifolius, Laurus Tinus, Celastrus, &c. fittest for the Shrubby part and under-furniture of our ever green Groves.
1686 R. Blome Gentlemans Recreation ii. vi. 224 Ever-green hedges are very Ornamental.
1751 G. Cleghorn Observ. Epidemical Dis. Minorca 40 These evergreen Woods and Thickets..are not only a great Ornament to this Island, but of infinite Advantage to the Inhabitants.
1794 U. Price Ess. Picturesque 228 Suppose..that instead of the usual method of making an evergreen plantation of firs..stuck close together, the firs were planted eight, twelve, or more yards asunder.
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan II. 31 The evergreen tribe.
1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands III. 319 The peculiar tints of the evergreen region disappear. Deciduous oaks and horse-chestnuts become prevalent.
1908 B. O. Longyear Evergreen Trees Colorado (Agric. Exper. Station Colorado Agric. Coll. Bull. No. 130) 13 On the approach of winter the bed of seedlings should be mulched with straw, leaves, or evergreen boughs.
1992 Manitoba Vac. Planner 5/3 Grass River Provincial Park is a wilderness of lakes and evergreen forest.
2016 Express (Nexis) 16 Dec. 42 A lot of Christmas trees, festive pot plants, mistletoe and evergreen wreaths are sold off cheaply at the last minute.
2.
a. Always green; esp. (of a landscape) that shows year-round greenery.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > [adjective]
greeneOE
verdant1581
verdurant1583
sinople1590
vernant1594
viricund1599
virid1600
deep green1609
evergreen1622
virideous1688
virent1830
1622 L. Digges tr. G. de Céspedes y Meneses Gerardo i. iii. 145 A comely Swaine, that sat vpon the euer-greene fruitfull grasse.
?1624 G. Chapman tr. Hymn to Apollo in tr. Crowne Homers Wks. 31 Earths euer-greene, and holyest Hill.
1711 J. Toland Epsom 5 To these ever-green mountains of Chalk you may out of every house insensibly ascend.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) III. 409 Magnificent coursers pasture..in the ever-green valleys.
1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) x. §462 Were the sea fresh..Ireland would never have presented those ever-green shores.
1937 Times 25 Aug. 15/7 (advt.) The attractions of this lovely evergreen valley are as numerous in the Autumn and Winter as in Summer.
2014 Shenzhen Daily (Nexis) 13 Nov. In addition to enjoying the evergreen scenery, residents will find many activities, including wedding fairs and music festivals, while strolling through the parks.
b. figurative. Always fresh, never-failing; enduring.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > eternity or infinite duration > [adjective]
echec825
echelichc825
endlessc888
lastinga1225
everlastingc1225
perdurablec1275
perpetuala1325
unendeda1325
incorruptiblea1340
ay-lastingc1340
inlastingc1340
eternec1366
interminablec1374
unstanchablec1374
ever-duringa1382
eternalc1386
sempitern1390
never-failinga1400
sempiternal14..
ever-being?a1425
ever-durable?a1425
immarcescible?a1475
perennal?c1500
deathless1547
everlastable1548
incessant1557
unperishing1561
undeterminable1581
evera1586
unendlya1586
inexterminable1592
never-ending?1592
aeviternal1596
dateless1597
undecaying1599
entombless1601
perishless1605
ageless1609
continual1610
perpetuous1612
imperible1614
ne'er-endinga1616
out-date1623
undated1624
perennious1628
immortal1630
imperishable1648
birthless1651
fadeless1652
sempiternous1653
evergreen1655
intemporal1656
indefectible1659
inconclusible1660
unending1661
aeonian1664
unfading1665
sempervirent1668
amaranthal1674
ne'er-dying1693
perennial1717
timeless1742
indefeatablea1754
amaranthine1782
aeonial1800
unterminating1821
unevanescent1827
ay1845
forever1879
sempervirid1909
1655 R. Davenport King Iohn & Matilda v. i. sig. H2v A Fathers blessing, like a welcome cloud With child of friendly showers, hover o're thy goodnesse, And keep it evergreen.
1721 A. Welwood Meditations 117 The ever green and flourishing Communications of ravishing Loves, and Joys!
1858 Harper's Mag. Jan. 163/1 We are glad to transcribe this passage..as a lead from that chief literary labor of his Glenmary life..the ever-green ‘Letter from Under a Bridge’.
1871 Echo 13 Feb. One could not help being struck with the evergreen good humour of the French.
1966 O. S. Nock Brit. Steam Railway Locom. xx. 272/2 At this late stage I must not be lured into any participation in the evergreen steam versus diesel controversy.
1990 L. Csaba & E. Dessewffy tr. L. Csaba Eastern Europe in World Econ. iii. 99 The topic of mutual advantages is an evergreen one in the CMEA context.
2015 DM News (Nexis) July She tries to write as much evergreen content as possible, such as how-to articles, history pieces, and recipes.
3. In the names of specific trees, shrubs, etc., that have evergreen foliage. Frequently modifying the name of a tree that is normally deciduous (as evergreen oak, chestnut, maple, etc.)Recorded earliest in evergreen oak n. at Compounds.evergreen cherry, evergreen hazel, evergreen orpine, evergreen thorn: see the second element.
ΚΠ
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 600 The Ilex or euer-greene Oake riseth in time to be a very great tree.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum v. xix. 513 Cynoglossum semper virens. Ever greene Hounds tongue. This Hounds tongue doth not much differ, from the common or ordinary sort, but that the leaves are alwayes fresh and green.
1740 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. (new ed.) at Frangula Evergreen berry-bearing Alder, with a round stiff leaf, commonly called the Hottentot Cherry.
1773 W. Hanbury Compl. Body Planting & Gardening I. 248/1 This plant is most conspicuous when growing on a deciduous tree,..it will, nevertheless, grow on the Evergreen Crab-tree.
1806 B. M'Mahon Amer. Gardener's Cal. 633 Hot-House Trees, Shrubs, and Succulent Plants... Melia sempervirens. Evergreen Bead-tree.
1872 All Year Round 15 June 114/1 The common evergreen spurge-laurel, Daphne laureola, serves largely as a stock for the choicer and rarer species and varieties of Daphne.
1914 Jrnl. Heredity 5 26/2 The evergreen chestnuts (Castanopsis)..were always eaten during the winter or spring by cattle or by rodents, on account of their attractive green leaves and tender shoots above the snow.
1997 BioScience 47 736/1 North American ecologists are apt to be surprised in the Himalaya by evergreen maple.
2013 L. Bennett & S. Bittner Beautiful Edible Garden iii. 82 (caption) Evergreen ‘Sunshine Blue’ blueberries make an unexpected edible hedge in this woodland-style garden.
B. n.
1. A tree or shrub having evergreen foliage. Also: the foliage of such a tree; (as a mass noun) such foliage collectively. See sense A. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by age or cycles > [noun] > evergreen plant
evergreen1658
wintergreen1665
sempervirent1957
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > characterized by age or life cycle > [noun] > deciduous or evergreen
evergreen1658
green1664
1658 J. Evelyn tr. N. de Bonnefons French Gardiner 4 A Treatise of Flowers, and Ever-greens.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 169 The next morning we..passd St. Remes, all whose rivage is incomparably furnish'd with Ever-greens Orange, Citron, & even Date-trees.
1682 N. Grew Anat. Plants iv. i. v. 156 An Evergreen, is one degree above a Plant which is simply Perennial: of This, only the Trunk and Buds live all the Winter; of That, also the Expanded Leaves.
a1711 T. Ken Hymnotheo in Wks. (1721) III. 116 He to a Thicket lead, With ever-greens and downy Moss bespread.
1768 H. Walpole Let. 16 Apr. (1937) I. 133 The severe beginning of this last winter has made terrible havoc among the evergreens.
1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. iii. 59 The cause of the preservation of the leaves of evergreens through the winter is not accurately known.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 162 Christmas had been..the season..when every house was decorated with evergreens.
1922 A. Jekyll Kitchen Ess. 113 A gay basket,..holding a bunch..of forest evergreen.
1941 Sci. News Let. 1 Feb. 79/2 We have become used to thinking of evergreens and the needle-leaved conifer trees as synonymous.
1994 Guardian 19 Mar. (Weekend Suppl.) 68/4 The madrona, Arbutus menziesii..is a broad-leaved evergreen from the Pacific coast of North America.
2014 D. Lorain Olympic National Park & Vicinity ii. 79 Towering evergreens reach for the sky.
2. figurative. A person or thing that endures from one season to the next; a person or thing of enduring freshness, success, or popularity.
ΚΠ
1712 E. Budgell Spectator No. 395. ¶11 I do not design this Speculation for the Evergreens of the Sex.
1828 W. Scott Let. 3 Jan. (1937) XII. 459 She has no business in a ball-room but to be ranged against the wall as an evergreen.
1878 E. Jenkins Haverholme 98 Lady Willowgrove..was an evergreen. She had been a distinguished figure in society for three generations.
1972 E. N. Obiechina Onitsha Market Lit. 21 These authors are the ‘evergreens’ of the West African school examinations.
2009 J. Lee & H. Li Wealth Doesn't Last 3 Generations vi. 272 He is an evergreen among Chinese private entrepreneurs.
Compounds
evergreen magnolia n. any of various magnolias having evergreen foliage, esp. the southern magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora.
ΚΠ
1775 R. Weston Eng. Flora i. 22 Polyandria Polygynia...grandiflora..Evergreen Magnolia.
1870 Graphic 23 Apr. 495/2 Evergreen Magnolias spread their glossy leaves and expand their lavish cream-coloured blossoms in the shrubberies.
1964 Washington Post 21 June g15/1 (caption) Mrs. Calvin Hunter grew this two-year-old evergreen magnolia from seed.
2016 A. Bunting Plant Lover's Guide Magnolias 10 For decades, the primary evergreen magnolia used was the southern magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora, but today many excellent selections exist.
evergreen oak n. any of various oaks having evergreen foliage (see sense A. 1b), esp. the holm oak, Quercus ilex.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > berry-bush or -tree > [noun] > holly bush
hollinc725
hollyc1150
holmc1405
hulverc1430
holm-treec1450
hull1557
ilex1565
evergreen oak1629
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > oak and allies > [noun] > holm-oak
prinec1390
ilexa1398
holm1552
holm-tree1565
mast-holm1577
holly-oak1597
holm oak1597
hulver oak1597
scarlet oak1597
oak-holm1601
evergreen oak1629
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 600 The Ilex or euer-greene Oake riseth in time to be a very great tree.
1763 tr. A. Le Page du Pratz Hist. Louisiana I. iii. iii. 31 The ever-green oak is most common toward the sea-coasts, and near the banks of rivers.
1825 Royal Cornwall Gaz. 10,000 Evergreen Oaks, 4 to 6 feet,..of different varieties.
1879 Jrnl. Forestry & Estates Managem. 2 6 One of the most beautiful and distinct of evergreen oaks which has come under our notice is the Quercus Austriaca sempervirens.
1928 Geography 14 503 An evergreen oak forest belt is usual between 5,000 and 9,000 feet, succeeded by coniferous forests up to 12,000 feet.
1985 Cambr. Encycl. Life Sci. viii. 217/2 Much of the original vegetation around the Mediterranean was probably evergreen woodland dominated by holm or evergreen oak (Quercus ilex ).
2016 Irish News (Nexis) 19 Dec. 13 The mighty evergreen oak was planted some 200 years ago by the Ross family on, at that time, their private estate.
evergreen privet n. any of various privets having evergreen foliage (see sense A. 1b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > of the Mediterranean or Southern Europe > silver-bush
alatern1607
barren privet1611
evergreen privet1629
bitumen trefoil1658
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 603 Alaternus. The euer greene Priuet.
1785 W. Marshall Planting & Ornamental Gardening 231 (heading) The Evergreen Privet. This variety has a tendency to grow to be a taller and a stronger tree than the common deciduous sort.
1887 Amer. Garden Apr. 125/2 The so-called evergreen privet is a plant of the genus rhamnus.
1950 Auk 67 164 12 Scissor-tails were seen... At 6.45 p. m. they flew down to an evergreen privet and settled for the evening.
2011 Intelligencer (Doylestown, Pa.) 5 July B2/4 Frederick says one of the biggest offenders is the common evergreen privet hedge. ‘It's terribly invasive’.
evergreen rose n. any of several roses which have leaves that typically remain on the plant into the winter and are widely cultivated as garden plants; spec. Rosa sempervirens.Quot. 1629 probably shows phrasal use rather than an established collocation.
ΚΠ
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 420 Rosa semper virens. The euer greene Rose bush..is very like vnto a wilde single Eglantine bush.]
1665 J. Rea Flora i. iv. 31 The ever-green Rose... The leaves fall not away in Winter as those of other Roses, which property hath imposed the name.
1760 J. Webb Catal. Seeds & Hardy Plants 27/1 Ever green rose, with small leaves and single white flowers.
1847 S. B. Parsons Rose xvii. 278 Triomphe de Bollwiller is a very fine Evergreen Rose,..valuable for its tendency to bloom in the autumn.
1963 Times 9 Feb. 11/3 The top growth of many plants such as evergreen honeysuckles and evergreen roses is brown and desiccated.
2013 A. Génevé & M. Génevé Wild Fruit (2014) iii. 100 The evergreen rose hybridizes readily with other species.
Derivatives
ˈevergreenness n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by age or cycles > [noun] > evergreen plant > quality of being evergreen
evergreenness1865
1865 Sci. Amer. 9 Sept. 164/3 Evergreenness and variety bloom everywhere by the endless succession of decay and growth.
1882 W. E. Baxter Winter in India vii. 82 The evergreenness of Indian trees is one of the most striking features of the country.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 1246 Pine, fir, and spruce have their shading effects very much magnified by a feature they have in common—their evergreenness.
2003 H. S. Neufeld & D. R. Young in F. S. Gilliam & M. R. Roberts Herbaceous Layer Forests Eastern N. Amer. iii. 57 Evergreenness in herbs might also result from an inability to adapt to the low PFD during the summer.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
adj.n.1593