gaboon

American

[guh-boon] / gəˈbun /

noun

Also called gaboon mahogany. the soft, reddish-brown wood of an African tree, Aucoumea klaineana, used for making furniture.
the tree itself.

gaboon British

/ ɡəˈbuːn /

noun

the dark mahogany-like wood from a western and central African burseraceous tree, Aucoumea klaineana , used in plywood, for furniture, and as a veneer

"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

Etymology

Origin of gaboon

First recorded in 1910–15; variant of Gabon

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

On New Year's Eve, 1928, Perkins was removing parasites from the back of a gaboon viper, a small African reptile, when the snake wriggled its head free and sank one fang into Perkins' index finger.

From Time Magazine Archive

The leading lady of the great tradition is expected to resemble the gyascutus. prock, tree squeak and swamp gaboon rolled into one.

From Time Magazine Archive

The bite "felt like a bee sting magnified 100 times"; according to all known experience with the gaboon viper, Perkins should have died.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023