DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Swift, n.
 1. The current of a stream. [R.]
 2. Zool. Any one of numerous species of small, long-winged, insectivorous birds of the family Micropodidae. In form and habits the swifts resemble swallows, but they are destitute of complex vocal muscles and are not singing birds, but belong to a widely different group allied to the humming birds.
 Note: ☞ The common European swift (Cypselus apus syn. Micropus apus) nests in church steeples and under the tiles of roofs, and is noted for its rapid flight and shrill screams.  It is called also black martin, black swift, hawk swallow, devil bird, swingdevil, screech martin, and shriek owl.  The common American, or chimney, swift (Chaetura pelagica) has sharp rigid tips to the tail feathers. It attaches its nest to the inner walls of chimneys, and is called also chimney swallow.  The Australian swift (Chaetura caudacuta) also has sharp naked tips to the tail quills.  The European Alpine swift (Cypselus melba) is whitish beneath, with a white band across the breast. The common Indian swift is Cypselus affinis. See also Palm swift, under Palm, and Tree swift, under Tree.
 3. Zool. Any one of several species of lizards, as the pine lizard.
 4. Zool. The ghost moth. See under Ghost.
 5.  A reel, or turning instrument, for winding yarn, thread, etc.; -- used chiefly in the plural.
 6. The main card cylinder of a flax-carding machine.
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 Tree n.
 1. Bot. Any perennial woody plant of considerable size (usually over twenty feet high) and growing with a single trunk.
 Note: ☞ The kind of tree referred to, in any particular case, is often indicated by a modifying word; as forest tree, fruit tree, palm tree, apple tree, pear tree, etc.
 2. Something constructed in the form of, or considered as resembling, a tree, consisting of a stem, or stock, and branches; as, a genealogical tree.
 3. A piece of timber, or something commonly made of timber; -- used in composition, as in axletree, boottree, chesstree, crosstree, whiffletree, and the like.
 4. A cross or gallows; as Tyburn tree.
    [Jesus] whom they slew and hanged on a tree.   --Acts x. 39.
 5. Wood; timber. [Obs.]
    In a great house ben not only vessels of gold and of silver but also of tree and of earth.   --Wyclif (2 Tim. ii. 20).
 6. Chem. A mass of crystals, aggregated in arborescent forms, obtained by precipitation of a metal from solution. See Lead tree, under Lead.
 Tree bear Zool., the raccoon. [Local, U. S.]
 Tree beetle Zool. any one of numerous species of beetles which feed on the leaves of trees and shrubs, as the May beetles, the rose beetle, the rose chafer, and the goldsmith beetle.
 Tree bug Zool., any one of numerous species of hemipterous insects which live upon, and suck the sap of, trees and shrubs. They belong to Arma, Pentatoma, Rhaphigaster, and allied genera.
 Tree cat Zool., the common paradoxure (Paradoxurus musang).
 Tree clover Bot., a tall kind of melilot (Melilotus alba). See Melilot.
 Tree crab Zool., the purse crab. See under Purse.
 Tree creeper Zool., any one of numerous species of arboreal creepers belonging to Certhia, Climacteris, and allied genera. See Creeper, 3.
 Tree cricket Zool., a nearly white arboreal American cricket (Ecanthus nivœus) which is noted for its loud stridulation; -- called also white cricket.
 Tree crow Zool., any one of several species of Old World crows belonging to Crypsirhina and allied genera, intermediate between the true crows and the jays. The tail is long, and the bill is curved and without a tooth.
 Tree dove Zool. any one of several species of East Indian and Asiatic doves belonging to Macropygia and allied genera. They have long and broad tails, are chiefly arboreal in their habits, and feed mainly on fruit.
 Tree duck Zool., any one of several species of ducks belonging to Dendrocygna and allied genera. These ducks have a long and slender neck and a long hind toe. They are arboreal in their habits, and are found in the tropical parts of America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
 Tree fern Bot., an arborescent fern having a straight trunk, sometimes twenty or twenty-five feet high, or even higher, and bearing a cluster of fronds at the top. Most of the existing species are tropical.
 Tree fish Zool., a California market fish (Sebastichthys serriceps).
 Tree frog. Zool. (a) Same as Tree toad. (b) Any one of numerous species of Old World frogs belonging to Chiromantis, Rhacophorus, and allied genera of the family Ranidae. Their toes are furnished with suckers for adhesion. The flying frog (see under Flying) is an example.
 Tree goose Zool., the bernicle goose.
 Tree hopper Zool., any one of numerous species of small leaping hemipterous insects which live chiefly on the branches and twigs of trees, and injure them by sucking the sap. Many of them are very odd in shape, the prothorax being often prolonged upward or forward in the form of a spine or crest.
 Tree jobber Zool., a woodpecker. [Obs.]
 Tree kangaroo. Zool. See Kangaroo.
 Tree lark Zool., the tree pipit. [Prov. Eng.]
 Tree lizard Zool., any one of a group of Old World arboreal lizards (formerly grouped as the Dendrosauria) comprising the chameleons; also applied to various lizards belonging to the families Agamidae or Iguanidae, especially those of the genus Urosaurus, such as the lined tree lizard (Urosaurus ornatus) of the southwestern U.S.
 Tree lobster. Zool. Same as Tree crab, above.
 Tree louse Zool., any aphid; a plant louse.
 Tree moss. Bot. (a) Any moss or lichen growing on trees. (b) Any species of moss in the form of a miniature tree.
 Tree mouse Zool., any one of several species of African mice of the subfamily Dendromyinae. They have long claws and habitually live in trees.
 Tree nymph, a wood nymph. See Dryad.
 Tree of a saddle, a saddle frame.
 Tree of heaven Bot., an ornamental tree (Ailantus glandulosus) having long, handsome pinnate leaves, and greenish flowers of a disagreeable odor.
 Tree of life Bot., a tree of the genus Thuja; arbor vitae.
 Tree onion Bot., a species of garlic (Allium proliferum) which produces bulbs in place of flowers, or among its flowers.
 Tree oyster Zool., a small American oyster (Ostrea folium) which adheres to the roots of the mangrove tree; -- called also raccoon oyster.
 Tree pie Zool., any species of Asiatic birds of the genus Dendrocitta. The tree pies are allied to the magpie.
 Tree pigeon Zool., any one of numerous species of longwinged arboreal pigeons native of Asia, Africa, and Australia, and belonging to Megaloprepia, Carpophaga, and allied genera.
 Tree pipit. Zool. See under Pipit.
 Tree porcupine Zool., any one of several species of Central and South American arboreal porcupines belonging to the genera Chaetomys and Sphingurus.  They have an elongated and somewhat prehensile tail, only four toes on the hind feet, and a body covered with short spines mixed with bristles.  One South American species (Sphingurus villosus) is called also couiy; another (Sphingurus prehensilis) is called also cœndou.
 Tree rat Zool., any one of several species of large ratlike West Indian rodents belonging to the genera Capromys and Plagiodon. They are allied to the porcupines.
 Tree serpent Zool., a tree snake.
 Tree shrike Zool., a bush shrike.
 Tree snake Zool., any one of numerous species of snakes of the genus Dendrophis. They live chiefly among the branches of trees, and are not venomous.
 Tree sorrel Bot., a kind of sorrel (Rumex Lunaria) which attains the stature of a small tree, and bears greenish flowers.  It is found in the Canary Islands and Tenerife.
 Tree sparrow Zool. any one of several species of small arboreal sparrows, especially the American tree sparrow (Spizella monticola), and the common European species (Passer montanus).
 Tree swallow Zool., any one of several species of swallows of the genus Hylochelidon which lay their eggs in holes in dead trees. They inhabit Australia and adjacent regions. Called also martin in Australia.
 Tree swift Zool., any one of several species of swifts of the genus Dendrochelidon which inhabit the East Indies and Southern Asia.
 Tree tiger Zool., a leopard.
 Tree toad Zool., any one of numerous species of amphibians belonging to Hyla and allied genera of the family Hylidae. They are related to the common frogs and toads, but have the tips of the toes expanded into suckers by means of which they cling to the bark and leaves of trees.  Only one species (Hyla arborea) is found in Europe, but numerous species occur in America and Australia.  The common tree toad of the Northern United States (Hyla versicolor) is noted for the facility with which it changes its colors.  Called also tree frog. See also Piping frog, under Piping, and Cricket frog, under Cricket.
 Tree warbler Zool., any one of several species of arboreal warblers belonging to Phylloscopus and allied genera.
 Tree wool Bot., a fine fiber obtained from the leaves of pine trees.

 tree swift
      n : birds of southeast Asia and East Indies differing from true
          swifts in having upright crests and nesting in trees
          [syn: crested swift]