cinchona

American  

[sing-koh-nuh, sin-] / sɪŋˈkoʊ nə, sɪn- /

noun

1. any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Cinchona, of the madder family, especially C. calisaya, native to the Andes, cultivated there and in Java and India for its bark, which yields quinine and other alkaloids.

2. Also called Jesuit's bark, Peruvian bark.  the medicinal bark of such trees or shrubs.

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cinchona British  

/ sɪŋˈkɒnɪk, sɪŋˈkəʊnə /

noun

1. any tree or shrub of the South American rubiaceous genus Cinchona, esp C. calisaya, having medicinal bark

2. Also called: cinchona bark.   Peruvian bark.   calisaya.   china bark.  the dried bark of any of these trees, which yields quinine and other medicinal alkaloids

3. any of the drugs derived from cinchona bark

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Other Word Forms

• cinchonic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cinchona

< New Latin, the Linnaean genus name, after Francisca Enriques de Ribera, Countess of Chinchón (died 1641), who was associated with the introduction of quinine into Europe, in several accounts now considered spurious

Example Sentences

Carbonated water failed to do that but it did inspire the creation of medicated water, or tonic water infused with quinine from the bark of the cinchona tree.

From Salon • Jul. 27, 2023

Oddly, von Hippel traces the birth of the modern chemical industry to the extraction of quinine from cinchona bark in the 1820s.

From Nature • Aug. 30, 2020

At home in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, Mr. Katz simmers cinchona bark, berries and petals, then runs the slurry through the mill to make tonic, as a partner for his company’s gins.

From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2015

Illustration B shows the teardrop-shaped leaves and small pink flowers of a cinchona tree.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

At the time, the only medicine to combat malaria was quinine, which is extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple