gambier

American  

[gam-beer] / ˈgæm bɪər /

Or gambir

noun

1. an astringent extract obtained from the leaves and young shoots of a tropical Asian shrub, Uncaria gambir, of the madder family, used in medicine, dyeing, tanning, etc.

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gambier British  

/ ˈɡæmbɪə /

noun

1. an astringent resinous substance obtained from a rubiaceous tropical Asian woody climbing plant, Uncaria gambir (or U. gambier ): used as an astringent and tonic and in tanning

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Etymology

Origin of gambier

First recorded in 1820–30, gambier is from the Malay word gambir the name of the plant

Example Sentences

A good deal of gambier seems now to be grown in Java, for 58,305 piculs were exported from that island in 1843.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by Simmonds, P. L.

After that of Rhio, the next best gambier is that of Lingin.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by Simmonds, P. L.

The principal cultivated produce is tobacco, sago, cocoanuts, coffee, pepper, gambier and sugar-canes.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 3 "Borgia, Lucrezia" to "Bradford, John" by Various

Sungei Ujong, like the other States of the Peninsula, is almost entirely covered with forests, now being cleared to some extent by tapioca, gambier, and coffee-planters.

From The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither by Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)

It is also consumed by the silk manufacturers in preference to gambier, for weighting purposes.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 803, May 23, 1891 by Various