sumac

or su·mach

[ soo-mak, shoo- ]

/ ˈsu mæk, ˈʃu- /

noun

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.

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.

the wood of these trees.

Nearby words

sum and substance, sum total, sum up, sum-, sum-up, sumac, sumach, sumatra, sumatra camphor, sumatran, sumatran elephant

Origin of sumac

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sumac

He was making straight for a patch of sumac, ten feet in front of him and a hundred feet behind the stables.
Lad: A Dog|Albert Payson Terhune
The pathway was bordered with sumac and sassafras and flowering elder, and clumps of fennel, and thickets of blackberry bramble.
The Purple Heights|Marie Conway Oemler
It is sometimes called poison oak, but both these names are incorrect, as the shrub is really a kind of sumac.
A Handbook of Health|Woods Hutchinson
Sumac (Rhus glabra) often dominated at first in such situations.
The Forest Habitat of the University of Kansas Natural History Reservation|Henry S. Fitch

The galls are found upon the leaves of the oak or sumac, etc.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 803, May 23, 1891|Various

Word Origin and History for sumac

sumac

c.1300, "preparation of dried, chopped leaves of a plant of the genus Rhus" (used in tanning and dyeing and as an astringent), from Old French sumac (13c.), from Medieval Latin sumach, from Arabic summaq, from Syrian summaq "red." Later applied to a North American plant species.

Medicine definitions for sumac

sumac

n.

Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Rhus, having compound leaves, clusters of small greenish flowers, and usually red, hairy fruit. Some species, such as the poison ivy and poison oak, cause an acute itching rash on contact.