Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BEECH, n. [Sax. bece, boc; D. beuke, or beukenboom; Ger. buche, or buchbaum; Slav. boku; Russ. buk; Gr. φαγος; L. fagus; It. faggio; Sp. haya; Port. faia. In Saxon, bec and boc is a book. It may be that beech is properly the name of bark, and this being used, by our rude ancestors, as the material for writing, the word came to signify a book.]

A tree arranged by Linnæus under the genus Fagus, with the chestnut. The beech grows to a large size, with branches forming a beautiful head, with thick foliage. The bark is smooth and of a silvery cast. The mast or nuts are the food of swine, and of certain wild animals, and yield a good oil for lamps. When eaten by man, they are said to occasion giddiness and headach. – Encyc.