bonsai means A tree or plant that has been miniaturized by planting it in a small pot, restricting its roots, and by careful pruning.
bonsai is pronounced /ˈbɑnsaɪ/.
Why “bonsai” is a great word
A tree or plant that has been miniaturized and artistically shaped by cultivation in a small container, or the Japanese art of creating such plants. From Japanese 盆栽 (bonsai), from Middle Chinese 盆 (bwon, "bowl, pot, tray") + 栽 (tsoj/dzojH, "to plant, a planting"), first attested in English in 1914. Unlike "topiary," which sculpts living hedges into grand, geometric shapes upon a garden's canvas, or a mere "houseplant," kept for decorative utility, a bonsai is a deliberate, lifelong negotiation with nature on a miniature scale. It is the gnarled pine wrested from a cliff face, now occupying a shallow ceramic dish; the meticulous wiring of a single, wind-swept branch; the patient cultivation of a century into the span of a human hand—a testament to the art of containing vastness within severe, chosen limits.
Etymology
From Japanese 盆栽 (bonsai), from Middle Chinese 盆 (MC bwon, “bowl”) + 栽 (MC tsoj|dzojH, “to plant”).
noun
- A tree or plant that has been miniaturized by planting it in a small pot, restricting its roots, and by careful pruning.
- The art of planting and growing trees or plants in such a manner.
verb
- To make into a bonsai by restricting the roots and pruning.e.g.“Could I be a father who was, so to speak, bonsaiing his children, trimming urban roots, and then twisting the emerging branches?” — 2001, Dennis Parks, Living in the Country Growing Weird, page 50:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- prebonsai 68% match — A young plant that can be used to create a bonsai. vs bonsai →
- nebari 55% match — The surface roots that flare out from the base of a bonsai tree vs bonsai →
- jin 55% match — A portion of dead wood on a branch or at the top of the trunk of a bonsai tree, whether formed naturally or deliberately to suggest age and hardship. vs bonsai →
- shari 55% match — Dead wood on the main trunk of a bonsai tree. vs bonsai →
- disbud 54% match — To remove buds from a plant in order to promote growth and health in the remaining buds. vs bonsai →
- underpot 54% match — To place (a plant) in too small a pot. vs bonsai →
- dwarfen 53% match — To make or become dwarfed. vs bonsai →
- arborise 53% match — To develop a tree-like appearance. vs bonsai →