American arborvitae

noun

Definition of American arborvitae

: an evergreen tree ( Thuja occidentalis) of eastern North America that has a conical or columnar form, reddish-brown bark, flattened branchlets in horizontal planes with closely attached scalelike leaves, and soft, decay-resistant wood and that has numerous ornamental cultivars

called also eastern arborvitae, eastern white cedar, swamp cedar, northern white cedar, white cedar, yellow cedar

— compare oriental arborvitae

First Known Use of American arborvitae

1785, in the meaning defined above

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