arbor vitae

2 definitions found

arbor vitae - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Thuja \Thu"ja\ (th[=u]"j[.a]), n. [NL., from Gr. qyi`a an
     African tree with sweet-smelling wood.] (Bot.)
     A genus of evergreen trees, thickly branched, remarkable for
     the distichous arrangement of their branches, and having
     scalelike, closely imbricated, or compressed leaves. [Written
     also thuya.] See Thyine wood.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Thuja occidentalis is the Arbor vitae of the
           Eastern and Northern United States. Thuja gigantea of
           North-western America is a very large tree, there
           called red cedar, and canoe cedar, and furnishes a
           useful timber.
           [1913 Webster]

  Arbor vitae \Ar"bor vi"t[ae]\ [L., tree of life.]
     1. (Bot.) An evergreen tree of the cypress tribe, genus
        Thuja. The American species is the Thuja occidentalis.
        It is commonly used as an ornamental shrub around homes.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     2. (Anat.) The treelike disposition of the gray and white
        nerve tissues in the cerebellum, as seen in a vertical
        section.
        [1913 Webster]