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Humans have been making objects out of wood since before there even was an English language, but the adjectival use of "wood" didn't come into being until the 14th century, and "wooden" didn't appear until the 16th. (The word wood has ancient roots, but it originally existed only as a noun.) In Middle English, the adjective of choice was "tree" or "treen," as in a "tree vessel" or "treen shoes." "Treen" in turn came from the Old English word trēowen, from the noun "trēow" ("tree") and the suffix -en, which was used to indicate that something was composed of a certain material. As far as we know, no one ever used "treen" figuratively to describe things that are stiff as a board, but "wooden" was put to broader use soon after it was first recorded.
Examples of wooden in a Sentence
Roshane Thomas, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
Across the valley sat a two-story barn where caramel-colored and chestnut-spotted horses plus a storybook white one were lined up along the wooden fence.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
With Houghton’s dishwasher, the chamber was a wooden barrel.
—Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
It’s finished with a rustic wooden hello sign for a cozy farmhouse touch.
—Nora Colomer
May Earn A Commission If You Buy Through Our Referral Links. This Content Was Created By A Team That Works Independently From The Fox Newsroom., FOXNews.com, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wooden
Cite this Entry
“Wooden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wooden. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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