wych elm, witch elm
(wɪtʃ ɛlm)
Forms: α. 7 weech, 7–8 wich, 7–9 witch elm. β. 8– wych elm. (Also hyphened.)
[f. witch n.3 + elm. Cf. the slightly earlier witchen elm.]
A species of elm, Ulmus montana, having broader leaves and more spreading branches than the Common elm; the witch hazel or Scots elm; also, the wood of this.
| α 1626 Bacon Sylva §475 A Cions of a Weech-Elme, grafted vpon the Stocke of an Ordinary Elme, will put forth Leaues, almost as broad as the Brimme of ones Hat. 1633 T. Johnson Gerarde's Herbal 1482 Vlmus folio glabro, Witch Elme, or smooth leaued Elme. a 1691 Aubrey Nat. Hist. Wilts. (1847) 54 Wich-hazells, as we call them in Wilts (in some counties wich-elmes). 1715 Addison Drummer ii. i, There's a good deal of Virtue in that [Conjurer's] Wand—I fancy 'tis made out of Witch-Elm. 1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farm. 115, I here write of..the common Elm, and the witch Elm. 1810 Scott Lady of L. I. Introd. 2 The witch-elm that shades Saint Fillan's spring. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxxxvii, Witch-elms that counterchange the floor Of this flat lawn with dusk and bright. |
| β 1769 Barrington in Phil. Trans. LIX. 34 The Wych (or broad-leaved) elm. 1778 Lightfoot Flora Scot. I. 152 The variety with a smooth bark and leaf, commonly called the Wych-Elm. 1845 Faber Rosary, etc. 86 Many a bay, By..a drooping wychelm fanned. 1866 Treas. Bot. 1189 Forked branches of Wych Elm,..were used as divining-rods. 1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 317 The Wych elm is a hardy tree, of rapid growth. |
b. attrib., as
wych-elm faggot,
wych elm foliage,
wych elm tree.
| 1763 Museum Rust. I. 28 To fill up the drains with witch-elm faggots. 1862 Lytton Str. Story II. 11 In this yard there stood an old wych-elm tree. 1897 Daily News 12 Nov. 8/3 Bunches of wych-elm foliage. |