Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various semiparasitic plants of the order Santalales that grow on the branches of other plants, especially Viscum album of Eurasia and Phoradendron leucarpum of North America, both of which have leathery evergreen leaves and waxy white berries. Extracts of the Eurasian species are sometimes used for medicinal purposes.
- noun A sprig of mistletoe, often used as a Christmas decoration.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A European plant, Viscum album, of the natural order Loranthaceæ, growing parasitically on various trees.
- noun A plant of some other species of Viscum, or of one of the genera Loranthus, Phoradendron, and Arceuthobium, their species almost all having the same parasitic habit.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A parasitic evergreen plant of Europe (
Viscum album ), bearing a glutinous fruit. When found upon the oak, where it is rare, it was an object of superstitious regard among the Druids. A bird lime is prepared from its fruit.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any of several parasitic
evergreen plants with whiteberries that grow in the crowns ofoaks , apple trees and other trees. - noun A
sprig of these plants used as aChristmas decoration .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun shrub of central and southeastern Europe; partially parasitic on beeches, chestnuts and oaks
- noun American plants closely resembling Old World mistletoe
- noun Old World parasitic shrub having branching greenish stems with leathery leaves and waxy white glutinous berries; the traditional mistletoe of Christmas
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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-- The word "mistletoe" comes from the Anglo-Saxon words for "dung" ( 'mistel') and the word for "twig" ( 'tan'), which appropriately describe mistletoe's origin of sprouting where a bird leaves its droppings.
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A Christmas kiss under the mistletoe is an old English tradition.
Pies & Prejudice Heather Vogel Frederick 2010
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The mistletoe is a fascinating plant, a parasite that behaves like a vampire, sucking out water and minerals from living trees.
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Kissing under a mistletoe is a green-friendly seasonal activity, so is helping out at a soup kitchen, or running a coat drive.
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In other words, the mistletoe is another vestige of beliefs that existed long before Christianity.
Kenneth C. Davis: Mistletoe: Why All The Kissing Under A Parasitic Plant? 2009
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Druidic world would see, honestly, that in the mistletoe is their mystery, and that they themselves are the Tuatha De Danaan, alive, but submerged.
The Plumed Serpent 2003
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The mistletoe has been the object of a very special regard for centuries, and traces of this high esteem still survive in the well-known Christmas custom.
Little Folks (December 1884) A Magazine for the Young Various
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The mistletoe is a shrub which grows or lives upon certain trees, such as the apple, pear, and hawthorn.
Little Folks (December 1884) A Magazine for the Young Various
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The Chairman: I have noticed that the mistletoe was a bad parasite on the pecans in some regions.
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But the fact that in both the mistletoe was a sacred plant affords a violent presumption that there must have been a common point from which both religions started.
The Symbolism of Freemasonry Albert G. Mackey
vanishedone commented on the word mistletoe
Not a total WeirdNet paradox, but close enough.
December 21, 2008
dontcry commented on the word mistletoe
It just occurs to me that this word might fit in well at: An Arsenal for Civil Defunse. No?
December 21, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word mistletoe
I think so, if it's spelled "missiletoe"! (tee hee...)
December 22, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word mistletoe
December 13, 2010
hernesheir commented on the word mistletoe
In reference to the cartoon Prolagus posted previously, see the Hodr definition.
December 16, 2010