# tree

> English word · Noun · IPA /tɹiː/ · frequency rank #1,508

## Definitions
1. A perennial woody plant taller and larger than a shrub with a wooden trunk and, at some distance from the ground, having leaves and branches.
2. Any other plant (such as a large shrub or herb) that is reminiscent of the above in form and size.
3. An object made from a tree trunk and having multiple hooks or storage platforms.
4. A device used to hold or stretch a shoe open.
5. The structural frame of a saddle.
6. A connected graph with no cycles or, if the graph is finite, equivalently a connected graph with n vertices and n−1 edges.
7. A recursive data structure in which each node has zero or more nodes as children, but does not share children with other nodes.
8. A display or listing of entries or elements such that there are primary and secondary entries shown, usually linked by drawn lines or by indenting to the right.
9. Any structure or construct having branches representing divergence or possible choices.
10. The structure or wooden frame used in the construction of a saddle used in horse riding.
11. Marijuana.
12. A cross or gallows.
13. A mass of crystals, aggregated in arborescent forms, obtained by precipitation of a metal from solution.
14. The fifth Lenormand card.
15. Alternative letter-case form of TREE.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *drew-
Proto-Indo-European *-om
Proto-Germanic *trewą
Proto-West Germanic *treu
Old English trēow
Middle English tre
English tree
 PIE word
 *dóru
From Middle English trau, tre, tree, treo, treou, trew, trewe, troe, trouȝh, trouȝgh, trow, trowe, from Old English trēo, trēow, trēu, trīo, trīow, trȳw (“tree; wood; forest; beam, cudgel, log; cross”), from Proto-West Germanic *treu, from Proto-Germanic *trewą (“tree”), from pre-Germanic *dréwom, thematic e-grade derivative of Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree”). Related to tar, true.
Cognates
Cognate with Dutch teer (“tree”), Danish, Faroese, and Scanian træ (“tree; timber, wood”), Elfdalian trai (“tree; timber, wood”), Icelandic tré (“tree; wood”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk tre (“tree; wood”), Swedish trä (“wood; tree”), träd (“tree”), Gothic 𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌿 (triu, “piece of wood”); also Breton derv (“oak”), Cornish dar (“oak”), Irish dair (“oak”), Manx darragh (“oak; oaken”), Scottish Gaelic darach (“oak”), Welsh dâr (“oak”), Ancient Greek δόρυ (dóru, “tree; wood; spear”) (whence Greek δόρυ (dóry, “pike, spear”)), Albanian dru (“tree; wood”), Latvian darva (“tar”), Lithuanian derva (“tar; resin”), Belarusian дзе́рава (dzjérava, “tree”), дрэ́ва (dréva, “tree; wood”), Czech drvo, dřevo (“wood”), Polish drzewo (“tree; wood”), Russian де́рево (dérevo), дре́во (drévo, “tree; wood”), Serbo-Croatian др̏во, drȇvo, drijȇvo, drȋvo, dȑvo (“tree; wood”), Slovak and Slovene drevo (“tree; wood”), Ukrainian де́рево (dérevo, “tree; wood”), Armenian տարր (tarr, “element; component”), Avestan 𐬛𐬁𐬎𐬭𐬎 (dāᵘru, “wood”), Central Kurdish and Persian دار (dâr, “tree; wood”), Northern Kurdish dar (“tree”), Zazaki dare (“tree”), Hittite 𒋫𒊒 (taru), 𒋫𒀀𒊒 (táru, “tree; wood”), Luwian 𒋫𒀀𒊒 (tāru, “wood”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B or (“wood”), Sanskrit दारु (dāru, “timber, wood”).
Replaced alternative Middle English beem, from Old English bēam (see beam) and eclipsed non-native Middle English arbre, borrowed from Old French arbre.

## Easily confused with
- **try** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-try)
- **tri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-tri)
- **Tue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-tue)
- **tru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-tru)
- **tse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-tse)
- **TRP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-trp)
- **tye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-tye)
- **true** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-true)
- **type** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-type)
- **trip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-trip)
- **tube** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-tube)
- **tune** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-tune)
- **trek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-trek)
- **Troy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-troy)
- **trio** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-trio)
- **trim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-trim)
- **tyre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-tyre)
- **Trey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-trey)
- **trot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-trot)
- **Tyne** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tree-vs-tyne)

## Common misspellings (4)
`rtee`, `tere`, `trree`, `ttree`

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