acacia
/əˈkeɪ.ʃə/ noun, proper noun
Forms acacias acaciae
- noun (countable) A shrub or tree of the tribe Acacieae.
- noun (uncountable, pharmacy) The thickened or dried juice of several species in Acacieae, in particular Vachellia nilotica (syn. Acacia nilotica, Egyptian acacia).
- noun A false acacia; robinia tree (Robinia pseudoacacia).
- noun (uncountable) Gum arabic; gum acacia.
- noun (loosely) Any of several related trees, such as a locust tree.
- noun A light to moderate greenish yellow with a hint of red.
- noun (history, classical studies) A roll or bag, filled with dust, borne by Byzantine emperors, as a memento of mortality. It is represented on medals.
- proper noun A barangay of Catarman, Northern Samar, Philippines.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Latin acacia, from Ancient Greek ἀκακία (akakía, “shittah tree”), either from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”) (compare ἀκή (akḗ, “point”)) or more likely a Pre-Greek word. First attested before 1398. Doublet of cassie.
Unknown.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A roll or bag, filled with dust, borne by Byzantine emperors, as a memento of mortality. It is represented on medals.
- noun A genus of leguminous trees and shrubs. Nearly 300 species are Australian or Polynesian, and have terete or vertically compressed leaf stalks, instead of the bipinnate leaves of the much fewer species of America, Africa, etc. Very few are found in temperate climates.
- noun The inspissated juice of several species of acacia; --called also gum acacia, and gum arabic.
Etymology [L. from Gr. ak to be sharp. See Acute.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “acacia”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details