Yew, n. [OE. ew, AS. eów, īw, eoh; akin to D. ijf, OHG. īwa, īha, G. eibe, Icel. ȳr; cf. Ir. iubhar, Gael. iubhar, iughar, W. yw, ywen, Lith. jëva the black alder tree.]
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1. (Bot.) An evergreen tree (Taxus baccata) of Europe, allied to the pines, but having a peculiar berrylike fruit instead of a cone. It frequently grows in British churchyards.
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2. The wood of the yew. It is light red in color, compact, fine-grained, and very elastic. It is preferred to all other kinds of wood for bows and whipstocks, the best for these purposes coming from Spain.
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☞ The American yew (Taxus baccata, var. Canadensis) is a low and straggling or prostrate bush, never forming an erect trunk. The California yew (Taxus brevifolia, also called Pacific yew) is a good-sized tree, and its wood is used for bows, spear handles, paddles, and other similar implements; the anticancer agent taxol is obtained from its bark. Another yew is found in Florida, and there are species in Japan and the Himalayas.
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3. A bow for shooting, made of the yew.
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