From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Juniper \Ju"ni*per\, n. [L. juniperus, prop., youth-producing,
and so called from its evergreen appearance, from the roots
of E. juvenile, and parent. Cf. {Gin} the liquor.] (Bot.)
Any evergreen shrub or tree, of the genus {Juniperus} and
order {Conifer[ae]}.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The common juniper ({Juniperus communis}) is a shrub of
a low, spreading form, having awl-shaped, rigid leaves
in whorls of threes, and bearing small purplish blue
berries (or galbuli), of a warm, pungent taste, used as
diuretic and in flavoring gin. A resin exudes from the
bark, which has erroneously been considered identical
with sandarach, and is used as pounce. The oil of
juniper is acrid, and used for various purposes, as in
medicine, for making varnish, etc. The wood of several
species is of a reddish color, hard and durable, and is
used in cabinetwork under the names of {red cedar},
{Bermuda cedar}, etc.
[1913 Webster]
{Juniper worm} (Zool.), the larva of a geometrid moth
({Drepanodes varus}). It feeds upon the leaves of the
juniper, and mimics the small twigs both in form and
color, in a remarkable manner.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
juniper
n 1: desert shrub of Syria and Arabia having small white
flowers; constitutes the juniper of the Old Testament;
sometimes placed in genus Genista [syn: {retem}, {raetam},
{juniper bush}, {juniper}, {Retama raetam}, {Genista
raetam}]
2: coniferous shrub or small tree with berrylike cones
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