juniper

Etymology

From Late Middle English junyper, juniperus, from Latin iūniperus (“juniper-tree”).

noun

1. Any shrub or tree of the genus Juniperus of the cypress family, which is characterized by pointed, needle-like leaves and aromatic berry-like cones.
   Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper. 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 273
   Sometimes I lost track of them and had to hunt round in a circle, thrusting through sharp-scented bushes, scratching myself on various plants which were still new to me: resinaceous rock-roses, juniper [translating genévriers], ilex, yellow and white asphodel. 1962, Simone de Beauvoir, translated by Peter Green, The Prime of Life, Cleveland, OH: The World Publishing Company, translation of La Force de l'âge, →OCLC, page 77
   One typical Grecian kiln engorged one thousand muleloads of juniper wood in a single burn. Fifty such kilns would devour six thousand metric tons of trees and brush annually. 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion, →OL
2. One of a number of coniferous trees which resemble junipers.
3. (UK, slang, archaic) Gin.
   […] I said you didn't like them ere strong liquors, but if he warn't particular, I was sure you would pledge him in a glass of juniper, for I had always made you, since we had been man and vife, take a drop afore you went to market, to keep cold out. 1834, Young Hearts: A Novel by a Recluse. With a Preface by Miss Jane Porter, page 106