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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of gambier

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gambier

Twelve years ago it exported over sixty-six million rupees’ worth of gambier, tin, pepper, nutmegs, coffee, tortoise-shell, rare woods, sago, tapioca, camphor, gutta-percha, and rattans.

From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 1 by Whymper, Frederick

They are raised from seed, and are topped to eight or ten feet, when the gambier is to be prepared.

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.

Rice, pepper, gambier, coffee and palms are cultivated, and fishing and the collection of forest produce are further industries, but none of these is of importance.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 "Baconthorpe" to "Bankruptcy" by Various

Its dense, dark jungle is broken up mainly by pepper and gambier plantations, the latter specially in new clearings.

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

Large quantities of gambier are imported, under the corrupted name of cutch, into Calcutta, from Pegu.

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.