spruceness
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Related to spruceness: sprucer
spruce 1
(spro͞os)n.
1.
a. Any of various coniferous evergreen trees of the genus Picea, having flattened or four-angled needlelike leaves, a conic shape, pendulous cones, and soft wood often used for paper pulp.
b. Any of various similar or related trees.
c. The wood of any of these trees.
2. A grayish green to dark greenish black.
[Short for obsolete Spruce fir, Prussian fir, from Middle English Spruce, Prussia, alteration of Pruce from Anglo-Norman Pruz, from Medieval Latin Prussia.]
spruce 2
(spro͞os)adj. spruc·er, spruc·est
Neat, trim, and smart in appearance: "a good-looking man; spruce and dapper, and very tidy" (Anthony Trollope).
v. spruced, spruc·ing, spruc·es
v.tr.
To make neat and trim: spruced up the chairs with new slipcovers.
v.intr.
To make oneself neat and smart in appearance: He was sprucing for the school dance.
[Perhaps from obsolete spruce leather, Prussian leather, from Middle English Spruce, Prussia; see spruce1.]
spruce′ly adv.
spruce′ness n.
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.
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Noun | 1. | spruceness - the state of being neat and smart and trim tidiness - the habit of being tidy |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
spruceness
n (of person, appearance) → Gepflegtheit f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007