Hypertext Webster Gateway: "sycamore"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Sycamore
more properly sycomore (Heb. shikmoth and shikmim, Gr.
sycomoros), a tree which in its general character resembles the
fig-tree, while its leaves resemble those of the mulberry; hence
it is called the fig-mulberry (Ficus sycomorus). At Jericho,
Zacchaeus climbed a sycomore-tree to see Jesus as he passed by
(Luke 19:4). This tree was easily destroyed by frost (Ps.
78:47), and therefore it is found mostly in the "vale" (1 Kings
10:27; 2 Chr. 1:15: in both passages the R.V. has properly
"lowland"), i.e., the "low country," the shephelah, where the
climate is mild. Amos (7:14) refers to its fruit, which is of an
inferior character; so also probably Jeremiah (24:2). It is to
be distinguished from our sycamore (the Acer pseudo-platanus),
which is a species of maple often called a plane-tree.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Plane \Plane\, n. [F., fr. L. platanus, Gr. ?, fr. ? broad; --
so called on account of its broad leaves and spreading form.
See {Place}, and cf. {Platane}, {Plantain} the tree.] (Bot.)
Any tree of the genus Platanus.
Note: The Oriental plane ({Platanus orientalis}) is a native
of Asia. It rises with a straight, smooth, branching
stem to a great height, with palmated leaves, and long
pendulous peduncles, sustaining several heads of small
close-sitting flowers. The seeds are downy, and
collected into round, rough, hard balls. The Occidental
plane ({Platanus occidentalis}), which grows to a great
height, is a native of North America, where it is
popularly called {sycamore}, {buttonwood}, and
{buttonball}, names also applied to the California
species ({Platanus racemosa}).
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Sycamore \Syc"a*more\, n. [L. sycomorus, Gr. ? the fig mulberry;
? a fig + ? the black mulberry; or perhaps of Semitic origin:
cf. F. sycomore. Cf. {Mulberry}.] (Bot.)
(a) A large tree ({Ficus Sycomorus}) allied to the common
fig. It is found in Egypt and Syria, and is the sycamore,
or sycamine, of Scripture.
(b) The American plane tree, or buttonwood.
(c) A large European species of maple ({Acer
Pseudo-Platanus}). [Written sometimes {sycomore}.]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Buttonwood \But"ton*wood`\, n. (Bot.)
The {Platanus occidentalis}, or American plane tree, a large
tree, producing rough balls, from which it is named; --
called also {buttonball tree}, and, in some parts of the
United States, {sycamore}. The California buttonwood is {P.
racemosa}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
sycamore
n 1: variably colored and sometimes variegated hard tough elastic
wood of a sycamore tree [syn: {lacewood}]
2: any of several trees of the genus Platanus having thin pale
bark that scales off in small plates and lobed leaves and
ball-shaped heads of fruits [syn: {plane tree}, {platan}]
3: Eurasian maple tree with pale gray bark that peels in flakes
like that of a sycamore tree; leaves with five ovate lobes
yellow in autumn [syn: {great maple}, {scottish maple}, {Acer
pseudoplatanus}]
4: thick-branched wide-spreading tree of Africa and adjacent
southwestern Asia often buttressed with branches rising
from near the ground; produces cluster of edible but
inferior figs on short leafless twigs; the Biblical
sycamore [syn: {sycamore fig}, {mulberry fig}, {Ficus
sycomorus}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.