quassia
UK /ˈkwɒʃ(i)ə/ · US /ˈkwɑʃə/ noun
Forms quassias
- noun Any of several tropic trees, of the genus Quassia, having scarlet flowers.
- noun The bitter substance quassin extracted from its bark.
Synonyms
Etymology
From the genus name translingual Quassia, named after Surinamese physician and botanist Graman Quassi.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The wood of several tropical American trees of the order Simarubeæ, as Quassia amara, Picræna excelsa, and Simaruba amara. It is intensely bitter, and is used in medicine and sometimes as a substitute for hops in making beer.
Etymology [NL. From the name of a negro, Quassy, or Quash, who prescribed this article as a specific.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “quassia”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details