laurel

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
laurel/ˈlɒrəl/

▶noun

• 1 an aromatic evergreen shrub or small tree with dark green glossy leaves. [Laurus and other genera, family Lauraceae.]

• 2 (laurels) a crown woven from the foliage of the bay tree and awarded as an emblem of victory or mark of honour in classical times.

  ■ honour or praise.

▶verb (laurels, laurelling, laurelled; US laurels, laureling, laureled) adorn with or as if with a laurel.

– phrases
look to one's laurels be careful not to lose one's superior position to a rival.
rest on one's laurels be so satisfied with what one has already achieved that one makes no further effort.

– origin ME lorer, from OFr. lorier, from Provençal laurier, from earlier laur, from L. laurus.