live oak
nounUS /laɪv oʊk/
Etymology So called because such oaks remain green and "live" throughout winter, when others are dormant and leafless.
1
An evergreen species of oak characteristic of the US South, southern live oak (Quercus virginiana).
- This was a group of white-shirted, khaki-trousered, suspendered old men who had spent their lives doing nothing and passed their twilight days doing same on pine benches under the live oaks on the square.1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:
2
Any of several other species of oak with evergreen, usually holly-like, leaves.
- Derived terms
- canyon live oak, especially coastal ranges of California, coast live oak, dwarf live oak, interior live oak, live-oaker, sand live oak, shrub live oak, Sierra live oak, southern live oak, Texas live oak
- Related terms
- Live Oak, Live Oak County