mountain ash

Multiple Entries:
  mountain ash    ash  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
mountain ash

▶noun

• 1 a rowan. [Sorbus americana (N. America) and related species.]

• 2 Austral. a tall eucalyptus tree used for wood. [Eucalyptus regnans and other species.]

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
ash1

▶noun

• 1 the powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.

  ■ (ashes) the remains of a human body after cremation or burning.

  ■ (in chemical analysis) the mineral component of an organic substance (indicated by the residue left after burning).

• 2 (the Ashes) a cricket trophy awarded for a Test match series between England and Australia. [from a mock obituary notice referring to the symbolical remains of English cricket.]

– phrases
turn to ashes in one's mouth become bitterly disappointing or worthless.
rise from the ashes be renewed after destruction.

– derivatives
ashy adjective.

– origin OE æsce, aexe, of Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
ash2

▶noun

• 1 a tree with compound leaves, winged fruits, and hard pale wood. [Genus Fraxinus: many species.]

  ■ used in names of other trees, e.g. mountain ash.

• 2 an Old English runic letter, ᚫ.

  ■ the symbol æ or Æ, used in the Roman alphabet in place of the runic letter and as a phonetic symbol.

  See also Æ.

– origin OE æsc, of Gmc origin.