# spruce

> English word · Noun · IPA /spɹuːs/ · frequency rank #17,498

## Definitions
1. Any of various large coniferous evergreen trees or shrubs from the genus Picea, found in northern temperate and boreal regions; originally and more fully spruce fir.
2. The wood of a spruce.
3. Made of the wood of the spruce.
4. Prussian leather; pruce.

## Etymology
From Middle English Spruce, an alteration of Pruce (“Prussia”), from Medieval Latin, from a Baltic language, probably Old Prussian; for more, see Prussia. Spruce, spruse (1412), and Sprws (1378) were terms for commodities brought to England by Hanseatic merchants (beer, wood, leather). The tree with this name was also believed to have been native to Prussia. The adjective and verb senses ("trim, neat" and "to make trim, neat") are attested from 1594, and originate with spruce leather (1466), which was used to make a popular style of jerkins in the 1400s that was considered smart-looking.

## Easily confused with
- **struck** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spruce-vs-struck)
- **sprung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spruce-vs-sprung)
- **space** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/space-vs-spruce)
- **sauce** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sauce-vs-spruce)
- **spice** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spice-vs-spruce)
- **spree** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spree-vs-spruce)
- **spouse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spouse-vs-spruce)
- **Spence** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/spence-vs-spruce)
- **seduce** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/seduce-vs-spruce)
- **sprite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sprite-vs-spruce)
- **splice** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/splice-vs-spruce)

## Common misspellings (9)
`psruce`, `sppruce`, `sprcue`, `sprruce`, `sprucce`, `spruec`, `spurce`, `srpuce`, `sspruce`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/spruce