fustic

[ fuhs-tik ]

/ ˈfʌs tɪk /

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noun

the wood of a large, tropical American tree, Chlorophora tinctoria, of the mulberry family, yielding a light-yellow dye.

the tree itself.

the dye.

any of several other dyewoods.

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Also called old fustic (for defs. 1-3).

Origin of fustic

1425–75; late Middle English fustik<Middle French fustoc<Arabic fustuq<Persian pistah; akin to Greek pistákē pistachio tree

Words nearby fustic

fusspot, fussy, fustanella, fustet, fustian, fustic, fustigate, fusty, fusula, fusuma, fut.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fustic in a sentence

The old fustic of the English dyer, as the article fustet is their yellow fustic.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
Fustic occurs in commerce in blocks, which are brown without, and of a brownish-yellow within.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3|Various
Fustic--growing at Newcastle, and its vicinity, forbid to be cut without permission from the governor.
The Present Picture of New South Wales (1811)|David Dickinson Mann
By altering the proportions of madder and fustic various shades of brown can be got.
Vegetable Dyes|Ethel M. Mairet

Dip blue-stained articles for a short time in nitro-hydrochlorate of tin, and then in a hot decoction of fustic.
Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million|Sarah Josepha Hale

British Dictionary definitions for fustic

fustic

/ (ˈfʌstɪk) /

noun

Also called: old fustic a large tropical American moraceous tree, Chlorophora tinctoria

the yellow dye obtained from the wood of this tree

any of various trees or shrubs that yield a similar dye, esp Rhus cotinus (young fustic), a European sumach

Word Origin for fustic

C15: from French fustoc, from Spanish, from Arabic fustuq, from Greek pistakē pistachio tree

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