Redwood
/ˈrɛd.wʊd/noun
Any of several trees with reddish wood, especially the giant sequoia and coast redwood of western North America.
Did you know?The red color comes largely from tannins and related compounds in the heartwood, which help make redwood unusually resistant to decay and insects.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*rewdʰ- / *widʰu-
“The roots behind “red” (red-colored) and “wood” (forest or tree material).”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*raudaz / *widuz
“The ancestral Germanic forms meaning red and wood, respectively.”
Old English
Old English
rēad / wudu
““Red” and “wood”; Old English commonly formed compounds by placing descriptive words before nouns.”
Middle English
Middle English
red wode
“A descriptive phrase meaning wood that is red in color.”
16th–17th Century
English
redwood
“A developing compound for trees or timber distinguished by reddish wood.”
Modern English
English
redwood
“A common name for several reddish-wooded trees, especially Sequoia sempervirens and Sequoiadendron giganteum.”