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neem

[neem]
  1. a product of the seeds of a tropical tree, Azadirachta indica, of the mahogany family, that disrupts reproduction in insects, used as an insecticide.
  2. Also called neem tree, nim tree, margosa. the tree itself.
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Origin of neem

1805–15; < Hindi nīm < Sanskrit nimba
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for neem

Historical Examples of neem

  • Me neem is Costigan, madam, a poor gentleman of Oireland, binding to circumstances and forced to follow a disagrayable profession.

    The Virginians

    William Makepeace Thackeray

  • Ye'll hae an affaictionate regaird for that neem, I'm thenking, Mess Rawse?

  • Suddenly Mark recalled his glimpse of the butler in close conversation under the neem tree with Zynool's double.

  • The neem tree seeds afford a very clear or bitter oil, used for burning.

  • While greeting him I heard a great clamour of scolding babblers (Crateropus canorus) emanating from a neem tree hard by.

    Jungle Folk

    Douglas Dewar

British Dictionary definitions for neem

neem

noun
  1. a large tree of India, Azadirachta indica, all parts of which are useful to man: the leaves act as a natural pesticide, the fruit and seeds yield a medicinal oil, the bark is used to make a tonic, and the trunk exudes a gum
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Word Origin for neem

C19: from Hindi nīm, from Sanskrit nimba
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