Yu
/juː/noun
A historical or dialectal spelling variant of “yew,” the evergreen tree Taxus baccata.
Did you know?Yew trees became associated with death and immortality because they remain evergreen, can regenerate from ancient trunks, and were commonly planted in European churchyards.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*aiw-
“Vital force, life, age, or eternity”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*īwaz
“Yew tree”
Old English
Old English
īw
“Yew”
Middle English
English
yu
“A spelling variant of yew”
Modern English
English
yu
“A rare historical or dialectal variant spelling of “yew””