sumac

American  

[soo-mak, shoo-] / ˈsu mæk, ˈʃu- /

Or sumach

noun

1. any of several shrubs or small trees belonging to the genus Rhus of the cashew family, having milky sap, compound leaves, and small, fleshy fruit.

2. a preparation of the dried and powdered leaves, bark, etc., of certain species of Rhus, especially R. coriaria of southern Europe, used especially in tanning.

3. the wood of these trees.

---

Etymology

Origin of sumac

1250–1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin < Arabic summāq

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sumac

“Recipes From the American South” is a cookbook that I will come back to again and again for its roasts and stews, cakes and pies—and surprises like Appalachian lemonade made from sumac.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

He flips a jar of sumac between his hands like a baseball while teasing a regular, a woman in zebra-print pants with a diamond wedding ring the size of a quail’s egg.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2025

Hillsides choked with sumac, sage and buckwheat a week earlier now had the look of the inside of a very ancient barbecue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 12, 2025

For full-spectrum flavor, you could also include a pinch of sumac for sourness, a fleck of crushed dried seaweed for savoriness and a dash of poppy seeds for sweet nuttiness.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 15, 2023

The father sharpened the butcher knife with the whetstone he used to whet his scythe and his goose-necked brier hook in the summer when he cut brambles and young sumac in the fencerows.

From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong