1. [n]  a textile machine having a system of revolving spikes for opening and cleaning raw textile fibers
2. [n]  any of numerous deciduous trees and shrubs of the genus Salix

Willow
Willow

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1. \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.)
      (a) The European reed bunting, or black-headed bunting.
          See under {Reed}.
      (b) 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}.
   

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