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evergreen. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
evergreen, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
evergreen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
From ever + green.
Pronunciation
Adjective
evergreen (not comparable)
- Of plants, especially trees, that do not shed their leaves seasonally.
- Synonym: sempervirent
- Antonym: deciduous
1902, Henry Van Dyke, The Blue Flower:...these three little creeping vines put forth their hands with joy, and spread over rock and hillock and twisted tree-root and mouldering log, in cloaks and scarves and wreaths of tiny evergreen, glossy leaves.
- (often figuratively) Continually fresh or self-renewing.
- (contracts) Being a clause which causes an automatic renewal of a contract unless action is taken.
- (computing) Of a document, a piece of software, or a data set: kept continually up to date (as opposed to being published at regular intervals and outdated in the meantime)
2014, Peter Gasston, Book of CSS3, 2nd Edition: A Developer's Guide to the Future of Web Design, No Starch Press, →ISBN, page 257:Chrome and Firefox are evergreen browsers: they update automatically and version numbers are only used for internal reference.
- (broadcasting) Suitable for transmission at any time; not urgent or time-dependent.
- Synonym: timeless
2001, Christopher H Sterling, John M Kittross, Stay Tuned, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, page 654:Another change in the news was emphasis on “evergreen” features involving attractive children or animals, parades or fireworks, as well as local developments.
Derived terms
Translations
of plants, that do not shed their leaves
- Belarusian: вечназялёны (vječnazjaljóny)
- Bhojpuri: सदाबहार (sadābᵊhār)
- Breton: padus o delioù, pourc'hidik
- Bulgarian: вечнозеле́н (večnozelén)
- Catalan: perennifoli (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 常青 (zh) (chángqīng), 常綠/常绿 (zh) (chánglǜ)
- Czech: stálezelený (cs) m
- Danish: stedsegrøn (da)
- Dutch: groenblijvend
- Esperanto: ĉiamverda
- Finnish: ainavihanta (fi), ikivihanta (fi), ikivihreä (fi)
- French: à feuilles persistantes, sempervirent (fr)
- Georgian: მარადმწვანე (maradmc̣vane)
- German: immergrün (de)
- Greek: αειθαλής (el) (aeithalís)
- Ancient: ἀειθαλής (aeithalḗs)
- Hebrew: יְרֹק־עַד / ירוק עד (he) m (yarók ‘ad)
- Hindi: सदाबहार (hi) (sadābhār)
- Hungarian: örökzöld (hu)
- Icelandic: sígrænn (is) m, vetrargrænn m
- Irish: síorghlas
- Italian: sempreverde (it)
- Japanese: 常緑 (ja) (じょうりょく, jōryoku)
- Kannada: ನಿತ್ಯಹರಿದ್ವರ್ಣ (nityaharidvarṇa)
- Korean: 상록의 (sangnogui), 상록 (sangnok)
- Lithuanian: visžalis
- Macedonian: зи́мзелен (zímzelen)
- Manx: sheer-ghlass
- Maori: māotaota, raumāota
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: eviggrønn
- Nynorsk: eviggrøn
- Old Norse: ægrǿnn, sígrǿnn
- Polish: zimozielony (pl)
- Portuguese: sempre-verde (pt), perenifólio
- Romanian: sempervirescent (ro)
- Russian: вечнозелёный (ru) (večnozeljónyj)
- Scottish Gaelic: bith-bheò, sìor-bheò, sìor-uaine, sìor-ghorm
- Spanish: perennifolio (es), de hoja perenne, siempreverde (es)
- Swedish: städsegrön (sv), vintergrön
- Telugu: సతతహరిత (satataharita), సస్యశ్యామల (sasyaśyāmala)
- Turkish: her dem yeşil, yaprak dökmeyen
- Ukrainian: вічнозеле́ний (vičnozelényj)
- Vietnamese: thường xanh
- Volapük: laidagrünik
- Welsh: bytholwyrdd
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Noun
evergreen (plural evergreens)
- A shrub or tree that does not shed its leaves or needles seasonally.
1838, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter I, in Alice or The Mysteries , volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, , →OCLC, book I, page 3:The lawn before them was gay with evergreens, relieved by the first few flowers and fresh turf of the reviving Spring; […]
1912, Thomas Hardy, “An Imaginative Woman”, in Life’s Little Ironies , New York, N.Y., London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC, page 5:Husband and wife walked till they had reached the house they were in search of, which stood in a terrace facing the sea, and was fronted by a small garden of wind-proof and salt-proof evergreens, stone steps leading up to the porch.
- (specifically, informal) A conifer tree.
1858, Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods:The spruce and fir trees crowded to the track on each side to welcome us, the arbor- vitae, with its changing leaves, prompted us to make haste, and the sight of the canoe-birch gave us spirits to do so. Sometimes an evergreen just fallen lay across the track with its rich burden of cones, looking, still, fuller of life than our trees in the most favorable positions.
1958 March 31, Chuck Berry (lyrics and music), “Johnny B. Goode”, performed by Chuck Berry:Deep down in Louisiana, close to New Orleans, / Way back up in the woods among the evergreens, / There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood / Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
- (mass media, informal) A news story that can be published or broadcast at any time.
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
Verb
evergreen (third-person singular simple present evergreens, present participle evergreening, simple past and past participle evergreened)
- (patent law, pharmaceuticals) To extend the term of a patent beyond the normal legal limit, usually through repeated small modifications.
- (banking) To set the repayment rate of a loan at or below the interest rate, so low that the principal will never be repaid.
Further reading
Finnish
Etymology
From English evergreen.
Pronunciation
Noun
evergreen
- (anglicism) evergreen (evergreen song, song that is ever popular)
Declension
Synonyms
Further reading
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from English evergreen.
Adjective
evergreen (invariable)
- evergreen (always in style)
Noun
evergreen m (invariable)
- a song or singer that is always in style
- (finance) revolving credit
Further reading
- evergreen in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
Swedish
Etymology
From English evergreen.
Noun
evergreen c
- classic song, evergreen song, song that is ever popular
Declension
Synonyms
Further reading