quassia
Americannoun
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a shrub or small tree, Quassia amara, of tropical America, having pinnate leaves, showy red flowers, and wood with a bitter taste.
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any of several other trees having bitter-tasting wood.
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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.
noun
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any tree of the tropical American simaroubaceous genus Quassia, having bitter bark and wood
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the bark and wood of Quassia amara and of a related tree, Picrasma excelsa, used in furniture making
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a bitter compound extracted from this bark and wood, formerly used as a tonic and anthelmintic, now used in insecticides
Etymology
Origin of quassia
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; see -ia
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.
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.
From New York Times • Aug. 14, 2020
Peet took a sip of Aecorn Dry, a grape blend that is infused with chamomile, black tea, and quassia wood.
From The New Yorker • Sep. 19, 2019
Mixture for Destroying Flies--Infusion of quassia, one pint; brown sugar, four ounces; ground pepper, two ounces.
From The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing A Manual of Ready Reference by Triemens, Joseph
If from pinworms in the rectum, the itching of the tail may be remedied by an occasional injection of a quart of water in which chips of quassia wood have been steeped for 12 hours.
From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Michener, Charles B.
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.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 6 "Home, Daniel" to "Hortensius, Quintus" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
