mistletoe
Syllables: mis·tle·toeUK/ˈmɪs(ə)ltəʊ/US/ˈmɪsəlˌtoʊ/
mistletoe noun: any of numerous hemiparasitic evergreen plants of the order Santalales with white berries that grow in the crowns of apple trees, oaks, and other trees, such as the European mistletoe (Viscum album) and American mistletoe or eastern mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum).
Noun
mistletoe (countable and uncountable, plural mistletoes)
- Any of numerous hemiparasitic evergreen plants of the order Santalales with white berries that grow in the crowns of apple trees, oaks, and other trees, such as the European mistletoe (Viscum album) and American mistletoe or eastern mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum).
- (all obsolete or archaic)
- Miſtletoe, by phyſicians, &c. called viſcus, grows to the height of about two feet. […] Pliny and moſt naturaliſts relate, that thruſhes being exceedingly fond of the berries of the miſtletoe; they ſwallow them, and caſt them out again on the branches of trees, where they uſe to perch; and by this...1738, E[phraim] Chambers, “MISTLETOE”, in Cyclopædia: Or, An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; […] In Two Volumes, 2nd corrected and amended edition, volumes II (L–Z), London: […] D[aniel]...
- Synonyms:
- miseleden, misselden, misseldine
- A sprig of one such plant used as a Christmas decoration, associated with the custom that a man may kiss any woman standing beneath it.
- Miſtletoe! why I know what that is, as we garniſh our Houſe with it every Year, at Chriſtmas.1782, Benjamin Martin, “Dialogue VI. Reflections on the Wonderful Nature, and Singular Properties of Some Kinds of Plants, Shrubs, and Trees; Exemplified in Missltoe,^([sic]) Sensitive Plant, Bulbous...
- There were ruddy, brown-faced, broad-girthed Spanish Onions, shining in the fatness of their growth like Spanish Friars; and winking from their shelves in wanton slyness at the girls as they went by, and glanced demurely at the hung-up mistletoe.1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Three. The Second of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, pages 81–82
mistletoe meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Tagalog
mistletoe in Tamil
- ஒருவகைப் புல்லுருவி, முட்சங்கு, சங்கஞ்செடி
mistletoe in Urdu
- اکاس پودا
mistletoe in Malayalam
- mistletoe
- ഇത്തിൾക്കണ്ണി ittiḷkkaṇṇi
mistletoe in Tagalog
- any of several hemiparasitic evergreen plants of the order Santalales
- ligas
More languagesFewer languages
- mistletoe in Arabic
- دِبْق dibq, نَبَات طُفَيْلِيّ nabāt ṭufayliyy
- mistletoe in Persian
- دارواش dârvâš
- mistletoe in Vietnamese
- tầm gửi
- mistletoe in Myanmar
- ကျီးပေါင်း kyi:paung:
Examples of mistletoe in a sentence
- [T]he stickiness [of mistletoe berries] persists through the gut, making it hard to defecate mistletoe seeds with any grace.2014 December 23, Olivia Judson, “The hemiparasite season [print version: Under the hemiparasite, International New York Times, 24–25...
- Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe / Help to make the season bright / Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow / Will find it hard to sleep tonight1946 November, Robert Wells, Mel Tormé, “The Christmas Song”, performed by Nat King Cole:
- Rockin' around the Christmas tree / At the Christmas party hop / Mistletoe hung where you can see / Every couple tries to stop1958, Johnny Marks, “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree”, in Merry Christmas from Brenda Lee, performed by Brenda Lee:
- Kissing under the mistletoe has been happening for at least 200 years.2014 December 23, Olivia Judson, “The hemiparasite season [print version: Under the hemiparasite, International New York Times, 24–25...
Synonyms of mistletoe
Forms of mistletoe
| plural | mistletoes |
|---|---|
| alternative form | misleto |
| alternative form | miseltoe |
| alternative form | misletoe |
| alternative form | mistle-toe |
| alternative form | misseltoe |
Origin of mistletoe
From Middle English mistelto, mistilto (“European mistletoe”), from Old English misteltān (“mistletoe”), from mistel (“mistletoe; basil; birdlime”) + tān (“sprig, shoot, twig”), possibly as a calque of Old Norse mistilteinn; equivalent to mistle + tan (“twig”). This was mistaken for the plural of tā (“toe”). Cognate with Danish mistelten (“mistletoe”), Norwegian misteltein (“mistletoe”), Icelandic mistilteinn (“mistletoe”). Compare also the simplex form West Frisian mistel (“mistletoe”), Dutch mistel (“mistletoe”), German Mistel (“mistletoe”), Swedish mistel (“mistletoe”).
Words formed from mistletoe
- American mistletoe
- apostle mistletoe
- Australian native mistletoe
- Dendrophthoe vitellina)
- bigleaf mistletoe
- box mistletoe
- cactus mistletoe
- Cape mistletoe
- Christmas mistletoe
- common mistletoe
- crimson mistletoe
- dense mistletoe
- desert mistletoe
- drooping mistletoe
- dwarf mistletoe
- eastern mistletoe
- European mistletoe
- false mistletoe
- feathery mistletoe
- fir mistletoe
- fleshy mistletoe
- grey mistletoe
- hairy mistletoe
- harlequin mistletoe
- incense-cedar mistletoe
- jointed mistletoe
- juniper mistletoe
- leafy mistletoe
- long-flowered mistletoe
- mahogany mistletoe
- mesquite mistletoe
- mistletoebird
- mistletoe bird
- mistletoe borer
- mistletoe cactus
- mistletoed
- mistletoe fig
- mistletoe flowerpecker
- mistletoe stem borer
- mistletoe thrush
- mistletoe tyrannulet
- mulberry mistletoe
- native mistletoe
- northern mistletoe
- oak mistletoe
- Old World mistleoe
- orange mistletoe
- Pacific mistletoe
- red-berry mistletoe
- red mistletoe
- rough mistletoe
- round-leaf mistletoe
- scaly mistletoe
- showy mistletoe
- sycamore mistletoe
- true mistletoe
Phrases with mistletoe
Questions about mistletoe
- What does mistletoe mean?
- Mistletoe means any of numerous hemiparasitic evergreen plants of the order Santalales with white berries that grow in the crowns of apple trees, oaks, and other trees, such as the European mistletoe (Viscum album) and American mistletoe or eastern mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum).
- What is mistletoe in Tamil?
- Mistletoe in Tamil is ஒருவகைப் புல்லுருவி, முட்சங்கு, சங்கஞ்செடி. See Mistletoe meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use mistletoe in a sentence?
- [T]he stickiness [of mistletoe berries] persists through the gut, making it hard to defecate mistletoe seeds with any grace.
- What part of speech is mistletoe?
- Mistletoe is a noun.
- How do you pronounce mistletoe?
- Mistletoe is pronounced /ˈmɪs(ə)ltəʊ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of mistletoe?
- The plural of mistletoe is mistletoes.
Words near mistletoe in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: mistletoe (page history and authors); mistletoe (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); mistletoe (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ഇത്തിൾക്കണ്ണി (Malayalam) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-mistletoe.ogg.
Cite this entry: “mistletoe.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mistletoe. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.