bois d'arc

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French bois d’arc (“bow wood”). So called because used for bows by the Western Indians.

Noun

bois d'arc

1. The osage orange.
   • 1880, US Census

     The bois d'arc seems to be the characteristic growth of the black prairies.

   • 2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster 2014, p. 107:

     We carried the big ohapuupi seeds with us, planting them anywhere they might grow, and as this had been done by the various tribes for hundreds or maybe thousands of years, bois d'arc trees were found all along the plains.

Anagrams

• CB radios