Meanings
plural Judas trees
- A small deciduous tree, Cercis siliquastrum, noted for its prolific display of deep-pink flowers in spring.
[…] children, drawing water, Looked up and paused to see, Amid the apple branches, A purple Judas tree.
1858, Adelaide Anne Procter, “The Wayside Inn”, in Legends and Lyrics, New York: D. Appleton, page 1192 more examples
The Spaniards and Portuguese title the siliquastrum the lovely tree, or tree of love; and we call it Judas tree, from a tradition, that it was the tree Judas hanged himself upon.
1762 June, “The compendious System of Natural History”, in The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure, volume 30, page 297[The garden] is a tangle of briars and grey sage, and here and there a judas tree in full flower stains the whiteness of the tall planes with its incredible magenta.
1926, Vita Sackville-West, Passenger to Teheran, London: Leonard & Virginia Woolf, Chapter V, IISynonyms: European redbud
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA small deciduous tree, Cercis siliquastrum, noted for its prolific display of deep-pink flowers in spring.
More synonyms by meaning
nounsmall tree of the eastern Mediterranean having abundant purplish-red flowers growing on old wood directly from stems and appearing before the leaves: widely cultivated in mild regions; wood valuable for veneers
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From a European folk belief that Judas Iscariot hanged himself on a tree of this species (the account in the Christian scriptures says he hanged himself, but gives no details).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek σημύδα
- σημύδα (sēmúda)Cercis siliquastrum
Arabic أُرْجُوَان, زَمْزَرِيق
- أُرْجُوَان (ʔurjuwān)Cercis siliquastrum
- زَمْزَرِيق (zamzarīq)Cercis siliquastrum
- شَزْرِيق (šazrīq)Cercis siliquastrum
- خَزْرِيق (ḵazrīq)Cercis siliquastrum
Bulgarian див рожков
- див рожков (div rožkov)Cercis siliquastrum
Catalan arbre de l'amor
- arbre de l'amorCercis siliquastrum
Chinese Mandarin 南歐紫荊 /南欧紫荆
- 南歐紫荊 /南欧紫荆 (Nán-Ōu zǐjīng)Cercis siliquastrum
Czech zmarlika luštinatá, Jidášův strom
- zmarlika luštinatáCercis siliquastrum
- Jidášův stromCercis siliquastrum
- zmarlika JidášovaCercis siliquastrum
French arbre de Judas, arbre de Judée
- arbre de JudasCercis siliquastrum
- arbre de JudéeCercis siliquastrum
German Judasbaum
- JudasbaumCercis siliquastrum
Greek κουτσουπιά
- κουτσουπιά (koutsoupiá)Cercis siliquastrum
Hebrew כְּלִיל הַחֹרֶשׂ
- כְּלִיל הַחֹרֶשׂ (kǝlīl ha-ḣṓreš)Cercis siliquastrum
Hindi अरगवान
- अरगवान (aragvān)Cercis siliquastrum
Korean 유럽박태기나무
- 유럽박태기나무 (yureopbaktaeginamu)Cercis siliquastrum
Persian ارغوان
- ارغوان (arġavân)Cercis siliquastrum
Polish judaszowiec południowy, judaszowiec wschodni
- judaszowiec południowyCercis siliquastrum
- judaszowiec wschodniCercis siliquastrum
Portuguese olaia, árvore-de-judas
- olaiaCercis siliquastrum
- árvore-de-judasCercis siliquastrum
Russian иу́дино де́рево, багря́нник
- иу́дино де́рево (iúdino dérevo)Cercis siliquastrum
- багря́нник (bagrjánnik)Cercis siliquastrum
- багря́нник европе́йский (bagrjánnik jevropéjskij)Cercis siliquastrum
- церцис европе́йский (cercis jevropéjskij)Cercis siliquastrum
Spanish arjorán, ciclamor
- arjoránCercis siliquastrum
- ciclamorCercis siliquastrum
- árbol del amorCercis siliquastrum
- algarrobo locoCercis siliquastrum
- árbol de JudasCercis siliquastrum
Swedish judasträd
- judasträdCercis siliquastrum
Turkish erguvan, deliboynuz
- erguvanCercis siliquastrum
- deliboynuzCercis siliquastrum
Ukrainian іу́дине де́рево, багря́ник
- іу́дине де́рево (iúdyne dérevo)Cercis siliquastrum
- багря́ник (bahrjányk)Cercis siliquastrum
- багря́ник європе́йський (bahrjányk jevropéjsʹkyj)Cercis siliquastrum
- церцис європе́йський (cercys jevropéjsʹkyj)Cercis siliquastrum
Cite this entry
Judas tree. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Judas%20tree
“Judas tree.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Judas%20tree. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Judas tree,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Judas%20tree.
Source: Judas tree on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.