cubeb

[kyoo-beb]

See more synonyms for cubeb on Thesaurus.com

noun

the spicy fruit or drupe of an East Indian climbing shrub, Piper cubeba, of the pepper family.

Origin of cubeb

1250–1300; < Medieval Latin cubēba < Arabic kubābah (classical Arabic kabābah); replacing Middle English cucube, quibibe < Anglo-French, Middle French < Medieval Latin, as above

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for cubeb

smoke, puff, butt, reefer, cubeb, fag, biri, gasper

Examples from the Web for cubeb

Historical Examples of cubeb

There was a strange medicinal odor—as of cubeb cigarettes—in the air.
The Damnation of Theron Ware
Harold Frederic
The cubeb is cultivated in Java and Sumatra, the fruits are gathered before they are ripe, and carefully dried.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8
Various
At the beginning of the nineteenth century cubeb disappeared almost entirely from medical practice.
Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 4 [April 1901]
Various
In the thirteenth century cubeb is mentioned among the import articles of London.
Birds and Nature Vol. 9 No. 4 [April 1901]
Various

British Dictionary definitions for cubeb

cubeb

noun

a SE Asian treelike piperaceous woody climbing plant, Piper cubeba, with brownish berries
the unripe spicy fruit of this plant, dried and used as a stimulant and diuretic and sometimes smoked in cigarettes

Word Origin for cubeb

C14: from Old French cubebe, from Medieval Latin cubēba, from Arabic kubābah

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012