quassia

[kwosh-uh, -ee-uh]

noun

1. a shrub or small tree, Quassia amara, of tropical America, having pinnate leaves, showy red flowers, and wood with a bitter taste.

2. any of several other trees having bitter-tasting wood.

3. Also called bitterwood. Chemistry, Pharmacology.,  a prepared form of the heartwood of any of these trees, used as an insecticide and in medicine as a tonic to dispel intestinal worms.

quassia

/ ˈkwɒʃə /

noun

1. any tree of the tropical American simaroubaceous genus Quassia, having bitter bark and wood

2. the bark and wood of Quassia amara and of a related tree, Picrasma excelsa, used in furniture making

3. a bitter compound extracted from this bark and wood, formerly used as a tonic and anthelmintic, now used in insecticides

Word History and Origins

Origin of quassia¹

First recorded in 1775–80; from New Latin, named after Quassi, an 18th-century enslaved healer in the Dutch colony of Suriname who discovered its medicinal properties; -ia

Word History and Origins

Origin of quassia¹

C18: from New Latin, named after Graman Quassi, a slave who discovered (1730) the medicinal value of the root

Example Sentences

The first of their three flavors, which include Aromatic and Dry, to come to the United States is Bitter, made with grapes, grapefruit, bay leaf, orange, oak and quassia, also known as bitterwood.

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Guides are specially trained to locate troops among the quassia trees and even have a special call to draw them out.

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A very bitter compound of quassia, cocculus Indicus, etc., used by fraudulent brewers in adulterating beer.

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The soft soap serves as a vehicle to retain the bitterness of the quassia upon the bines and leaves, making them repulsive to the aphides, which are thus starved out.

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Water alone, or aqueous decoctions or emulsions of various kinds—e.g., quassia, tobacco, soap, or aloes, have been widely employed against insects such as green fly, red spider, etc.

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