Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several tropical American trees of the genus Guaiacum; a lignum vitae.
  • noun The wood of a guaiacum.
  • noun A greenish-brown resin obtained from this tree, used medicinally and in varnishes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of a number of species of tree of the genus Guaiacum, native to the West Indies and parts of the Americas.
  • noun The wood or resin of this tree.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin, from Spanish guayacán, from Taíno.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Modern Latin, from Spanish guayacan.

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Examples

Comments

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  • "...no power on earth could prevent them from hurrying to bawdy-houses as soon as they were ashore. These cases he treated with calomel and guaiacum..."

    --O'Brian, The Wine-Dark Sea, 75

    March 14, 2008