chinaberry

[chahy-nuh-ber-ee]

noun

plural

chinaberries 

1. a tree, Melia azedarach, of the mahogany family, native to Asia but widely planted elsewhere for its ornamental yellow fruits and long clusters of fragrant purplish flowers.

chinaberry

/ ˈtʃaɪnəbərɪ /

noun

1. Also called: China tree.  azedarach. a spreading Asian meliaceous tree, Melia azedarach, widely grown in the US for its ornamental white or purple flowers and beadlike yellow fruits

2. another name for soapberry

3. the fruit of any of these trees

Word History and Origins

Origin of chinaberry¹

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; China + berry

Example Sentences

She directed our little sister to a chinaberry tree with giant overhanging branches a few yards away.

From Literature

Jay was sitting under the chinaberry tree with a boy I didn’t know.

From Literature

Dozens of men had gathered under the chinaberry trees to talk politics and chew khat, a mild stimulant beloved in the communities that skirt the western Indian Ocean.

From Washington Post

“It was nothing but scrub trees, chinaberry and hackberry.”

From Washington Times

One of the old ladies from the residences yet to be converted to a rooming house was outside in her pink housecoat, sweeping chinaberries off her sidewalk.

From The New Yorker