Meaning and Origin
What does the name Oak mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
User Submitted Origins
User Submitted Meanings
- A user from Thailand says the name Oak means "Oak wood".
- A user from the United Kingdom says the name Oak is of English origin and means "A type of tree".
- [Bot] Any tree or shrub of the genus Quercus. The oaks have alternate leaves, often variously lobed, and staminate flowers in catkins. The fruit is a smooth nut, called an acorn, which is more or less inclosed in a scaly involucre called the cup or cupule. There are now recognized about three hundred species, of which nearly fifty occur in the United States, the rest in Europe, Asia, and the other parts of North America, a very few barely reaching the northern parts of South America and Africa. Many of the oaks form forest trees of grand proportions and live many centuries. The wood is usually hard and tough, and provided with conspicuous medullary rays, forming the silver grain.
- The strong wood or timber of the oak.
Note: ☞ Among the true oaks in America are: Barren oak or Black-jack Quercus nigra. Basket oak Quercus Michauxii. Black oak Quercus tinctoria; -- called also yellow oak or quercitron oak. Bur oak see under Bur.), Quercus macrocarpa; -- called also over-cup or mossy-cup oak. Chestnut oak Quercus Prinus and Quercus densiflora. Chinquapin oak see under Chinquapin), Quercus prinoides. Coast live oak Quercus agrifolia, of California; -- also called enceno. Live oak see under Live), Quercus virens, the best of all for shipbuilding; also, Quercus Chrysolepis, of California. Pin oak . Same as Swamp oak. Post oak Quercus obtusifolia. Red oak Quercus rubra. Scarlet oak Quercus coccinea. Scrub oak Quercus ilicifolia Quercus undulata, etc. Shingle oak Quercus imbricaria. Spanish oak Quercus falcata. Swamp Spanish oak or Pin oak Quercus palustris. Swamp white oak Quercus bicolor. Water oak Quercus aquatica. Water white oak Quercus lyrata. Willow oak Quercus Phellos. Among the true oaks in Europe are: Bitter oak or Turkey oak Quercus Cerrissee Cerris). Cork oak Quercus Suber. English white oak Quercus Robur. Evergreen oak Holly oak or Holm oak Quercus Ilex. Kermes oak Quercus coccifera. Nutgall oak Quercus infectoria.
Note: ☞ Among plants called oak, but not of the genus Quercus, are: African oak a valuable timber tree (Oldfieldia Africana). Australian oak ; She oak any tree of the genus Casuarinasee Casuarina). Indian oak the teak tree (see Teak). Jerusalem oak . See under Jerusalem. New Zealand oak a sapindaceous tree (Alectryon excelsum). Poison oak a shrub once not distinguished from poison ivy, but now restricted to Rhus toxicodendron or Rhus diversiloba. Silky oak ; Silk-bark oak an Australian tree (Grevillea robusta).
Etymology: OE. oke ok ak, AS. āc; akin to D. eik, G. eiche, OHG. eih, Icel. eik, Sw. ek, Dan. eeg
- A deciduous tree of the genus Quercus; has acorns and lobed leaves ("great oaks grow from little acorns")
- The hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From Middle English ook, oke, aik, ake, from Old English āc (also as Old English ǣċ), from Proto-Germanic *aiks, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyǵ- (“oak”).
From Proto-Germanic: Scots aik, West Frisian iik, Dutch eik, German Eiche, Danish eg, Norwegian eik, Swedish ek
From Proto-Indo-European: Latin aesculus (“Durmast oak”), Lithuanian ąžuolas (“oak”), Albanian enjë (“juniper, yew”), Ancient Greek αἰγίλωψ (aigílōps, “Turkey oak”)).
- (countable) A deciduous tree with distinctive deeply lobed leaves, acorns, and notably strong wood, typically of England and northeastern North America, included in genus Quercus.
- (uncountable) The wood of the oak.
- A rich brown colour, like that of oak wood.
- oak colour:
- Any tree of the genus Quercus, in family Fagaceae.
- Any tree of other genera and species of trees resembling typical oaks of genus Quercus in some ways.
- The she-oaks in Allocasuarina and Casuarina, of family Casuarinaceae
- Lagunaria, white oak, in family Malvaceae
- Various species called silky oak, in family Proteaceae
- Toxicodendron, poison oak, in family Anacardiaceae
- Various tanbark oak or stone oak species in family Fagaceae, genera Lithocarpus and Notholithocarpus.
- The outer (lockable) door of a set of rooms in a college or similar institution. (Often in the phrase "to sport one's oak").
- (wine) The flavor of oak.