puccoon
/pəˈkuːn/ noun
Forms puccoons paucon pauson pocones
- noun (countable, botany) Any one of several plants yielding a red pigment which is used by the North American Indians, such as bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) and two species of Lithospermum, Lithospermum caroliniense and Lithospermum canescens.
- noun (uncountable) The red pigment (dye) obtained from these plants.
Synonyms
Lithospermum caroliniense bloodroot redroot tetterwort Sanguinaria canadensis
Etymology
From Virginia Algonquian i.e. Powhatan poughkone. Related to poke, pocan.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any one of several plants yielding a red pigment which is used by the North American Indians, as the bloodroot and two species of Lithospermum (L. hirtum, and L. canescens); also, the pigment itself.
Etymology [From the American Indian name.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “puccoon”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details