What is "willow"

Willow \Wil"low\, n. [OE. wilowe, wilwe, AS. wilig, welig; akin to OD. wilge, D. wilg, LG. wilge. Cf. Willy.]

1. (Bot.) Any tree or shrub of the genus Salix, including many species, most of which are characterized often used as an emblem of sorrow, desolation, or desertion. ``A wreath of willow to show my forsaken plight.''
   --Sir W. Scott. Hence, a lover forsaken by, or having lost, the person beloved, is said to wear the willow.

   And I must wear the willow garland For him that's dead or false to me.
   --Campbell.

2. (Textile Manuf.) A machine in which cotton or wool is opened and cleansed by the action of long spikes projecting from a drum which revolves within a box studded with similar spikes; -- probably so called from having been originally a cylindrical cage made of willow rods, though some derive the term from winnow, as denoting the winnowing, or cleansing, action of the machine. Called also willy, twilly, twilly devil, and devil. Almond willow, Pussy willow, Weeping willow. (Bot.) See under Almond, Pussy, and Weeping. Willow biter (Zo["o]l.) the blue tit. [Prov. Eng.] Willow fly (Zo["o]l.), a greenish European stone fly ( Chloroperla viridis); -- called also yellow Sally. Willow gall (Zo["o]l.), a conical, scaly gall produced on willows by the larva of a small dipterous fly ( Cecidomyia strobiloides). Willow grouse (Zo["o]l.), the white ptarmigan. See ptarmigan. Willow lark (Zo["o]l.), the sedge warbler. [Prov. Eng.] Willow ptarmigan (Zo["o]l.)

   1. The European reed bunting, or black-headed bunting. See under Reed.

   2. A sparrow ( Passer salicicolus) native of Asia, Africa, and Southern Europe.

      Willow tea, the prepared leaves of a species of willow largely grown in the neighborhood of Shanghai, extensively used by the poorer classes of Chinese as a substitute for tea.
      --McElrath.

      Willow thrush (Zo["o]l.), a variety of the veery, or Wilson's thrush. See Veery.

      Willow warbler (Zo["o]l.), a very small European warbler ( Phylloscopus trochilus); -- called also bee bird, haybird, golden wren, pettychaps, sweet William, Tom Thumb, and willow wren.

Willow \Wil"low\, v. t. To open and cleanse, as cotton, flax, or wool, by means of a willow. See Willow, n., 2.

Old English welig "willow," from Proto-Germanic *wel- (cognates: Old Saxon wilgia, Middle Dutch wilghe, Dutch wilg), probably from PIE *wel- (3) "to turn, roll," with derivatives referring to curved, enclosing objects, cognate with Greek helix (see volvox). The change in form to -ow (14c.) paralleled that of bellow and fellow. The more typical Germanic word for the tree is represented by withy.

n. 1 Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs in the genus ''Salix'', in the willow family Salicaceae, found primarily on moist soils in cooler zones in the northern hemisphere. 2 (context cricket colloquial English) A cricket bat 3 (context baseball slang 1800s English) The baseball bat. 4 A rotating spiked drum used to open and clean cotton heads. vb. (context transitive English) To open and cleanse (cotton, flax, wool, etc.) by means of a willow.

1. n. any of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix [syn: willow tree]

2. a textile machine having a system of revolving spikes for opening and cleaning raw textile fibers

Willows, also called sallows, and osiers, form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most species are known as willow, but some narrow-leaved shrub species are called osier, and some broader-leaved species are referred to as sallow (from Old English sealh, related to the Latin word salix, willow). Some willows (particularly arctic and alpine species) are low-growing or creeping shrubs; for example, the dwarf willow ( Salix herbacea) rarely exceeds in height, though it spreads widely across the ground.

Willow is a 1988 American-British high fantasy film directed by Ron Howard, produced and with a story by George Lucas, and starring Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, and Billy Barty. Davis plays the eponymous lead character and hero: a reluctant farmer who plays a critical role in protecting a special baby from a tyrannical queen who vows to destroy her and take over the world in a high fantasy setting.

Lucas conceived the idea for the film in 1972, approaching Howard to direct during the post-production phase of Cocoon in 1985. Bob Dolman was brought in to write the screenplay, coming up with seven drafts before finishing in late 1986. It was then set up at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and principal photography began in April 1987, finishing the following October.

The majority of filming took place at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England, as well as Wales and New Zealand. Industrial Light & Magic created the visual effects sequences, which led to a revolutionary breakthrough with digital morphing technology. The film was released in 1988 to mixed reviews from critics, but was a modest financial success, received two Academy Award nominations, and has developed a cult following amongst fantasy fans.

A willow is any of the several hundred species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus Salix.

Willow or willows may also refer to:

Willow is the name of several video games based on the 1988 film of the same name.

Two different games were released by Capcom for arcades and the Nintendo Entertainment System in . The arcade version is a platform game while the NES version is an action-RPG.

Unrelated Willow games were also released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and MS-DOS in 1988-89.

Willow is a name shared by two typefaces.

The Willow mansion (柳宿, pinyin: Liǔ Xiù) is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the southern mansions of the Vermilion Bird.

Willow is a fictional character in the space opera Dreadstar, created by Jim Starlin. She was introduced in the first issue of Dreadstar's regular series and had her origin told in issue 2.

Willow, also known as USS Willow, is a calico cat who travelled 1,800 miles from Aspen, Colorado, to New York City. Willow was discovered in September 2011, 5 years after escaping during a renovation, when her implanted microchip was scanned at an animal shelter. Anderson Cooper reunited Willow with her family, the Squireses, via satellite on 15 September 2011. Willow was reunited in person with the Squireses on the night of 22 September 2011, and made an appearance on The Today Show with Matt Lauer on 23 September 2011.

WILLOW (Willow Cricket) is an American sports channel which is completely devoted to airing overseas cricket events, including live and recorded matches and other cricket-related programming in English, with the majority of its advertising targeted towards the South Asian diaspora in North America. The network is carried both as a traditional cable channel which airs on cable and satellite systems, and a paid streaming service available on Willow and Apple TV.

The network was launched on September 21, 2010 and broadcasts cricket matches and several cricket-based programs and coverage from around the world. The channel merged with NEO Cricket's American network in February 2013 as that provider drew down their American operations with the Willow name remaining.

Willow's cable channel is available via satellite providers DISH Network and DirecTV, which is available both a la carte and bundled in various South Asian language packs on DISH and the HindiDirect package on DirecTV. It is also available on cable systems like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Charter and Cox, varying between extended sports packages or offered with other South Asian networks.

Willow has operated an Internet portal for live streaming of cricket events at willow.tv since 2010 for a monthly subscription fee. Willow has driven various innovations in the coverage of cricket, like video-based live scorecards and editorials. The website provides subscribers with video streams available on laptops, smartphones and tablets, plus web-connected devices like Roku, Boxee, GoogleTV, Samsung's Internet@TV and Playstation 3. A dedicated app for Willow was added for Apple TV on June 24, 2014.

Willow is a station on the Overbrook branch of the Port Authority of Allegheny County's light rail network. It is located in Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania. It is a transfer point between the Beechview (serving Castle Shannon, Mt. Lebanon, Dormont, and Beechview) and Overbrook (serving Overbrook, Carrick, Bon Air, and Belzhoover) lines. The station's name was derived from Willow Ave, the street that runs parallel with and across the light rail. No parking is available at the site and because park and ride commuters can more conveniently reach the nearby Memorial Hall station, Willow almost exclusively serves nearby apartments and individuals switching trains.

Willow was a station on the Chicago Rapid Transit Company's North Side Main Line, which is now part of the Chicago Transit Authority's Brown Line. The station was located at 940-44 W. Willow Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Willow was situated south of Armitage and north of Halsted, which is now closed. Willow opened in 1905 and closed on May 17, 1942, to allow for the construction of a new portal to the State Street Subway.