ar·bor·vi·tae

also ar·bor vi·tae (är′bər-vī′tē)

1. Any of various coniferous evergreen trees or shrubs of the genus Thuja of North America and eastern Asia, having flattened branchlets with opposite, scalelike leaves and small cones. They are grown as ornamentals and for timber. Also called thuja.

2. Any similar plant of the related genera Platycladus or Thujopsis.

3. Anatomy The white nerve tissue of the cerebellum, which has a treelike outline in a median section.

[From New Latin arbor vītae, tree of life : Latin arbor, tree + Latin vītae, genitive of vīta, life; see vital.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ar•bor•vi•tae

(ˌɑr bərˈvaɪ ti)

n.

1. any of several evergreen trees of the genus Thuja, of the cypress family, having a scaly bark and scalelike leaves on branchlets.

2. Also, ar′bor vi′tae. a treelike longitudinal pattern formed by the white and gray matter of the brain.

[1655–65; < New Latin, Latin: tree of life]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

arborvitae - any of several Asian and North American conifers of the genera Thuja and Thujopsis

canoe cedar, red cedar, Thuja plicata, western red cedar - large valuable arborvitae of northwestern United States

American arborvitae, northern white cedar, Thuja occidentalis, white cedar - small evergreen of eastern North America having tiny scalelike leaves on flattened branchlets

Oriental arborvitae, Platycladus orientalis, Thuja orientalis - Asiatic shrub or small tree widely planted in United States and Europe; in some classifications assigned to its own genus

hiba arborvitae, Thujopsis dolobrata - slow-growing medium-large Japanese evergreen used as an ornamental

conifer, coniferous tree - any gymnospermous tree or shrub bearing cones