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Humans have been making objects out of wood since before there even was an English language, but the adjectival use of "wood" didn't come into being until the 14th century, and "wooden" didn't appear until the 16th. (The word wood has ancient roots, but it originally existed only as a noun.) In Middle English, the adjective of choice was "tree" or "treen," as in a "tree vessel" or "treen shoes." "Treen" in turn came from the Old English word trēowen, from the noun "trēow" ("tree") and the suffix -en, which was used to indicate that something was composed of a certain material. As far as we know, no one ever used "treen" figuratively to describe things that are stiff as a board, but "wooden" was put to broader use soon after it was first recorded.
Synonyms
Examples of wooden in a Sentence
Cynthia Howell, arkansasonline.com, 14 Apr. 2024
The Logan Circle store has long featured a tattered awning, a mess of toys haphazardly placed in its display window and a weathered wooden sign out front advertising what people might find inside.
—Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024
Now 70 years old, Brito López recounted the horrors of that day to High Risk Court A in Guatemala City this week, saying the soldiers murdered his family during the early morning raid on January 20, 1982, burning their bodies inside their wooden home.
—Tara John, CNN, 13 Apr. 2024
The whole set is made from high-quality wood, including the wooden puzzle base/tray.
—Ashley Ziegler, Parents, 13 Apr. 2024
In Kyiv this week, two wooden caskets bearing soldiers’ bodies were brought to Independence Square — the heart of Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy protests — in a solemn parade, with mourners kneeling at their passing.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Take a look → Mysterious wooden train car — almost 100 years old — unearthed in Belgium, photos show
The burials included men, women and children each placed in their own pit, the institute said.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 12 Apr. 2024
Create a Chain Reaction While most bunk beds boast a simple wooden frame, this space by Ike Baker Velten gives you permission to think outside of the birch (or walnut… or mahogany…) box.
—Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
The blaze sent the wooden buildings to the riverbed below.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wooden.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing wooden
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Cite this Entry
“Wooden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wooden. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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More from Merriam-Webster on wooden
Nglish: Translation of wooden for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of wooden for Arabic Speakers
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