Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The fine hard-grained timber of the box, much used by wood-engravers and in the manufacture of musical and mathematical instruments, tool-handles, etc.
  • noun The name given to several trees which have hard, compact wood, taking a fine polish: in the United States to Cornus florida, and in the West Indies to Schœfferia frutescens, Vitex umbrosa, and Tecoma pentaphylla. Some species of Eucalyptus and of Tristania are so called in Australia.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The wood of the box (Buxus).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun countable, uncountable The box tree, Buxus sempervirens.
  • noun uncountable The hard, close-grained wood of this tree, used in delicate woodwork and in making inlays
  • noun countable, uncountable Any tree of genus Buxus.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun evergreen shrubs or small trees
  • noun very hard tough close-grained light yellow wood of the box (particularly the common box); used in delicate woodwork: musical instruments and inlays and engraving blocks

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

box +‎ wood. box from Latin buxus ("box-tree, object made of boxwood"), from Ancient Greek πύξος (puxos, "box tree, boxwood")

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Examples

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  • Buxus sempervirens

    May 11, 2008