English Explanatory Dictionary

tree hugger

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An environmental campaigner, especially one who aims to restrict logging and especially one who uses dramatic, attention-grabbing methods of obstruction.
  2. A hippie.

Pronunciation

En-au-tree hugger.ogg

Word forms

tree hugger tree huggers treehugger tree-hugger

Etymology

From tree + hugger. Popularized after the Chipko movement in India of the 1970s, who resorted to actual group hugging of trees in order to prevent deforestation. Tommy James claims that his song "Draggin' the Line" (1971) popularized the phrase.

Synonyms

eagle freak greeniac lentil-weaver posy sniffer prairie fairy yoghurt-knitter

Related words

panda hugger
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on T Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary