Spruce beer

Spruce beer
Spruce Spruce (spr[udd]s), n. [OE. Spruce or Pruse, Prussia, Prussian. So named because it was first known as a native of Prussia, or because its sprouts were used for making, spruce beer. Cf. Spruce beer, below, {Spruce}, a.] 1. (Bot.) Any coniferous tree of the genus {Picea}, as the Norway spruce ({P. excelsa}), and the white and black spruces of America ({P. alba} and {P. nigra}), besides several others in the far Northwest. See {Picea}. [1913 Webster]

2. The wood or timber of the spruce tree. [1913 Webster]

3. Prussia leather; pruce. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

Spruce, a sort of leather corruptly so called for Prussia leather. --E. Phillips. [1913 Webster]

{Douglas spruce} (Bot.), a valuable timber tree ({Pseudotsuga Douglasii}) of Northwestern America.

{Essence of spruce}, a thick, dark-colored, bitterish, and acidulous liquid made by evaporating a decoction of the young branches of spruce.

{Hemlock spruce} (Bot.), a graceful coniferous tree ({Tsuga Canadensis}) of North America. Its timber is valuable, and the bark is largely used in tanning leather.

{Spruce beer}. [G. sprossenbier; sprosse sprout, shoot (akin to E. sprout, n.) + bier beer. The word was changed into spruce beer because the beer came from Prussia (OE. Spruce), or because it was made from the sprouts of the spruce. See {Sprout}, n., {Beer}, and cf. {Spruce}, n.] A kind of beer which is tinctured or flavored with spruce, either by means of the extract or by decoction.

{Spruce grouse}. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Spruce partridge}, below.

{Spruce leather}. See {Spruce}, n., 3.

{Spruce partridge} (Zo["o]l.), a handsome American grouse ({Dendragapus Canadensis}) found in Canada and the Northern United States; -- called also {Canada grouse}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Spruce beer — is a beverage flavored with the buds, needles, or essence of spruce trees. Spruce has been a traditional flavoring ingredient throughout the upper latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere where it is found, often substituting for ingredients… …   Wikipedia

  • spruce beer — spruce′ beer n. vin a fermented beverage made with spruce leaves and twigs, or an extract from them • Etymology: 1490–1500 …   From formal English to slang

  • spruce beer — n. a fermented beverage made with an extract of spruce leaves and twigs …   English World dictionary

  • Spruce-beer — (engl., spr. ßprūß bīr), Sprossenbier, s. Bier, S. 847 …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • spruce beer — noun Date: 1744 a beverage flavored with spruce; especially one made from spruce twigs and leaves boiled with molasses or sugar and fermented with yeast …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • spruce beer — a fermented beverage made with spruce leaves and twigs, or an extract from them. [1490 1500] * * * …   Universalium

  • spruce beer — noun a fermented drink using spruce twigs and needles as flavouring …   English new terms dictionary

  • spruce beer — noun a brew made by fermenting molasses and other sugars with the sap of spruce trees (sometimes with malt) • Hypernyms: ↑brew, ↑brewage …   Useful english dictionary

  • spruce-beer — (sprou se bir) s. f. Sorte de bière qu on boit en Angleterre (voy. pruce) …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Spruce — (spr[udd]s), n. [OE. Spruce or Pruse, Prussia, Prussian. So named because it was first known as a native of Prussia, or because its sprouts were used for making, spruce beer. Cf. Spruce beer, below, {Spruce}, a.] 1. (Bot.) Any coniferous tree of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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