gambier

American  

[gam-beer] / ˈgæm bɪər /

Or gambir

noun

1. an astringent extract obtained from the leaves and young shoots of a tropical Asian shrub, Uncaria gambir, of the madder family, used in medicine, dyeing, tanning, etc.

---

gambier British  

/ ˈɡæmbɪə /

noun

1. an astringent resinous substance obtained from a rubiaceous tropical Asian woody climbing plant, Uncaria gambir (or U. gambier ): used as an astringent and tonic and in tanning

---

Etymology

Origin of gambier

First recorded in 1820–30, gambier is from the Malay word gambir the name of the plant

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gambier

The imports of gambier were, in 1836, 970 tons; 1837, 2,738 tons; 1838, 1,600 tons; 1839, 5,213 tons.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

There are about 200 plantations at Johore, and the produce of gambier for the season of 1851 was calculated at 30,000 piculs.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

Their rate of wages fluctuates with the price of gambier.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds

Others are soaked in a vegetable tan of hemlock, oak, chestnut, palmetto roots, gambier, or quebracho.”

From The Story of Leather by Sara Ware Bassett

A gambier and pepper plantation is valued or estimated at about 400 dollars on an average.

From The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom Considered in Their Various Uses to Man and in Their Relation to the Arts and Manufactures; Forming a Practical Treatise & Handbook of Reference for the Colonist, Manufacturer, Merchant, and Consumer, on the Cultivation, Preparation for Shipment, and Commercial Value, &c. of the Various Substances Obtained From Trees and Plants, Entering into the Husbandry of Tropical and Sub-tropical Regions, &c. by P. L. Simmonds