Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An evergreen shrub or tree (Conocarpus erectus) of coastal wetlands of tropical America and western Africa, having alternate leathery leaves and small buttonlike heads of greenish flowers.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A common name in the West Indies of a low combreta-ceous tree, Conocarpus erecta, with very heavy, hard, and compact wood.
- noun See
buttonball .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) The
Platanus occidentalis , or American plane tree, a large tree, producing rough balls, from which it is named; -- called alsobuttonball tree , and, in some parts of the United States,sycamore . The California buttonwood isPlatanus racemosa .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The common name given to at least three species of shrub or tree.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun very large spreading plane tree of eastern and central North America to Mexico
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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This name, as well as sycamore, is given, among us, to the large tree commonly called the buttonwood; but the tree here mentioned is different.
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The Big Board's roots as an icon of American capitalism go back to 1792, when traders signed an agreement under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street.
Feds Sink Nasdaq's Bid to Buy Big Board Aaron Lucchetti 2011
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That was when two dozen brokers met under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street where they had been trading securities outdoors to form what became the NYSE.
Exporting Wall Street L. Gordon Crovitz 2011
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From its beginnings under a buttonwood tree, "Wall Street" has become a metaphor for global capitalism beyond its original physical address.
Exporting Wall Street L. Gordon Crovitz 2011
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The beginnings of the New York Stock Exchange can be traced back to 1792, when brokers and merchants gathered under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street to sign the Buttonwood Agreement to trade securities on a commission basis.
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Fresh-caught snook fillets, slow-grilled over a smoky buttonwood fire (the wood is key).
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On May 17, 1792, after years of shouting out on the street, a group of 24 prominent brokers met under a buttonwood tree at what is now 68 Wall Street and decided to move indoors, so to speak.
Make Way for the Virtual Exchange Andy Kessler 2011
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According to lore, New York stock trading can be traced to 1792, when traders signed an agreement under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street.
Germans in Talks to Buy Big Board E.S. Browning 2011
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Insider trading has been around for more than two centuries, since the New York Stock Exchange was founded under a buttonwood tree in lower Manhattan.
How an SEC Crackdown Led to Rise of 'Expert Networks' Gregory Zuckerman 2010
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It will happen steps from where George Washington took the presidential oath of office at Downtown's original Federal Hall, and steps from where the seat of capitalism, the New York Stock Exchange, was founded by a group of brokers in 1792 who met under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street.
jaime_d commented on the word buttonwood
from Thoreau's A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, probably meaning sycamore
July 19, 2009