ɡri:n adj., n., & v. --adj. 1 of
the colour between blue
and yellow in the
spectrum;
coloured like
grass, emeralds, etc. 2 a covered
with leaves or grass. b
mild and
without snow (a green Christmas). 3 (of
fruit etc. or wood)
unripe or
unseasoned. 4
not dried, smoked, or tanned. 5 inexperienced,
naìve,
gullible. 6 a (of the complexion) pale, sickly-hued. b
jealous,
envious. 7
young, flourishing. 8 not withered or
worn out (a green
old age). 9
vegetable (green
food; green salad). 10 (also Green)
concerned with or supporting
protection of the
environment as a
political principle. 11
archaic fresh; not healed (a green wound). --n. 1 a green colour or
pigment. 2 green
clothes or
material (dressed in green). 3 a a
piece of
public or
common grassy land (village green). b a grassy
area used
for a
special purpose (putting-green; bowling-green). c
Golf a putting-green. d Golf a
fairway. 4 (in pl.) green vegetables. 5
vigour,
youth, virility (in the green). 6 a green
light. 7 a green ball, piece,
etc., in a game or
sport. 8 (also Green) a
member or
supporter of an
environmentalist group or party. 9 (in pl.) sl.
sexual intercourse. 10 sl. low-grade
marijuana. 11 sl.
money. 12 green
foliage or growing plants. --v. 1 tr. & intr.
make or
become green. 2 tr. sl.
hoax;
take in. øgreen
belt an area of
open land
round a
city, designated for
preservation. Green
Beret colloq. a
British or
American commando. green card an
international insurance document for motorists. green cheese 1 cheese coloured green with sage. 2
whey cheese. 3 unripened cheese. Green
Cloth (in full
Board of Green Cloth) (in the UK) the
Lord Steward's
department of the
Royal Household. green
crop a crop used as
fodder in a green
state rather than as hay etc. green
drake the common
mayfly. green
earth a
hydrous silicate of
potassium,
iron, and
other metals. green-eyed jealous. the green-eyed
monster jealousy. green
fat part of a
turtle,
highly regarded by gourmets. green-fee Golf a
charge for playing
one round on a
course. green fingers
skill in growing plants. green
goose a goose killed
under four months old and eaten without
stuffing. green in a person's
eye a
sign of gullibility (do
you see
any green in my eye?). green
leek any of
several green-faced
Australian parakeets. green light 1 a signal to
proceed on a road,
railway, etc. 2 colloq.
permission to go
ahead with a
project. green
linnet =
GREENFINCH. green
manure growing plants ploughed
into the soil as fertilizer. green
meat grass and green vegetables as food. Green
Paper (in the UK) a
preliminary report of
Government proposals, for
discussion. green
plover a
lapwing. green pound the
exchange rate for the pound for payments for agricultural
produce in the
EEC. green
revolution greatly increased crop
production in
underdeveloped countries. green-room a
room in a
theatre for actors and actresses
who are
off stage. green-stick
fracture a bone-fracture,
esp. in
children, in
which one
side of the
bone is
broken and one
only bent. green
tea tea
made from steam-dried, not fermented, leaves. green
thumb = green fingers. green turtle a green-shelled
sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, highly regarded as food. green
vitriol ferrous sulphate crystals. øøgreenish adj. greenly adv. greenness n. [OE grene (adj. & n.), grenian (v.), f. Gmc, rel. to GROW]