Pines

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /paɪnz/

Definitions

1. The coniferous trees with needle-like foliage and woody cones typify the genus Pinus, which is commonly found in various forested environments
2. Characterized by their slender trunks and evergreen needles, these trees contribute to forest biodiversity and provide habitats for numerous species
3. Trees from the genus Pinus have evergreen needles and produce cones ; to feel a strong desire or sadness because of separation or loss

Etymology: The plural "pines" is simply the plural of "pine," the tree. That noun reaches English from Old English "pīne," borrowed from Latin "pīnus," which is the same word that gave us the scientific name of the genus. The English word and the Latin one are doublets: two forms of one ancestor that came into the language by different routes, one through the everyday speech of Germanic peoples and the other through learned Latin. Among the Germanic cognates, the tree and the torment look unrelated, yet they are the same word in Middle English. "Pine" meaning to suffer comes from a separate Old English verb, "pīnian," meaning "to torment," which descends from the Germanic root for pain and torture. That noun is possibly linked to Latin "poena," meaning "punishment," and so to the same root as "pain." The two senses ran apart in English without ever sharing a form in the plural.

Synonyms: conifers, evergreens