sumach

British  

/ ˈʃuː-, ˈsuːmæk /

noun

1. any temperate or subtropical shrub or small tree of the anacardiaceous genus Rhus, having compound leaves, clusters of green flowers, and red hairy fruits See also poison sumach

2. a preparation of powdered leaves of certain species of Rhus, esp R. coriaria, used in dyeing and tanning

3. the wood of any of these plants

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Etymology

Origin of sumach

C14: via Old French from Arabic summāq

Example Sentences

In a corner of the hearth grew a sumach that bid fair in a short time to overtop all that was left of the chimney.

From Pencil Sketches or, Outlines of Character and Manners by Leslie, Eliza

The harmonies of colour that filled the landscape culminated in a crimson sumach growing hard by in a corner of a rail fence.

From The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains by Murfree, Mary Noailles

"Their young sorceress," said he, "has washed your body with bitter-bark and sumach, and has cleansed the wounds and stopped them with dry moss and balsam, so that they have ceased bleeding."

From The Little Red Foot by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)

Its leaves are the most beautiful in the sumach family.

From Trees Worth Knowing by Rogers, Julia Ellen

Behind the old city, three miles from the beach, rose Mount Lebanon, clothed to its snow-clad summits with the foliage of pine, cedar, oak, and sumach.

From The Golden Hope A Story of the Time of King Alexander the Great by Fuller, Robert H.