- Sprucely
- Spruce Spruce (spr[udd]s), a. [Compar. {Sprucer}
(spr[udd]"s[~e]r); superl. {Sprucest} (spr[udd]"s[e^]st).]
[Perhaps fr. spruce a sort of leather from Prussia, which was
an article of finery. See {Spruce}, n.]
1. Neat, without elegance or dignity; smart; trim; --
formerly applied to things with a serious meaning; now
chiefly applied to persons. ``Neat and spruce array.''
--Remedy of Love.
[1913 Webster]
2. Sprightly; dashing. [Obs.] ``Now, my spruce companions.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]
He is so spruce that he can never be genteel. --Tatler. [1913 Webster]
Syn: Finical; neat; trim. See {Finical}. [1913 Webster] -- {Spruce"ly}, adv. -- {Spruce"ness}, n. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
