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Humans have been making objects out of wood since before there even was an English language, but the adjectival use of "wood" didn't come into being until the 14th century, and "wooden" didn't appear until the 16th. (The word wood has ancient roots, but it originally existed only as a noun.) In Middle English, the adjective of choice was "tree" or "treen," as in a "tree vessel" or "treen shoes." "Treen" in turn came from the Old English word trēowen, from the noun "trēow" ("tree") and the suffix -en, which was used to indicate that something was composed of a certain material. As far as we know, no one ever used "treen" figuratively to describe things that are stiff as a board, but "wooden" was put to broader use soon after it was first recorded.
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Examples of wooden in a Sentence
Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2024
The walls and floor have flecked Venetian terrazzo tiles made with marble pebbles, while at the heart of the room there is a wooden counter inspired by the crates once used to transport premium wools hailing from various continents.
—Samantha Conti, WWD, 5 Nov. 2024
Conventional metal satellites create aluminum oxide particles during re-entry, but wooden ones would just burn up with less pollution, Doi said.
—Reuters, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
In keeping with the tranquil atmosphere, the interiors are light and uncluttered: beadboard, whitewashed walls with wooden beams and stone accents, and gauzy curtains that drift on the wind.
—Jo Rodgers, Vogue, 4 Nov. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near wooden
Cite this Entry
“Wooden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wooden. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
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