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ilex (EYE-leks) - n., any of several trees of the genus Ilex including the holly; the holm oak (Quercus ilex).
In Latin, īlex is the oak, which has spiky leaves similar to the European holly, and the name transferred over strongly enough that the hollies are now the primary meaning. The borrowing seems to have happened in the mid-16th century, though one dictionary claims the was 14th. (Note, btw, that Ilex paraguariensis is yerba mate, the source of the beverage.)
---L.
In Latin, īlex is the oak, which has spiky leaves similar to the European holly, and the name transferred over strongly enough that the hollies are now the primary meaning. The borrowing seems to have happened in the mid-16th century, though one dictionary claims the was 14th. (Note, btw, that Ilex paraguariensis is yerba mate, the source of the beverage.)
---L.
