CINCHONA


Meaning of CINCHONA in English

n.

Pronunciation: si ŋ - ' k ō -n ə , sin- ' ch ō -

Function: noun

Etymology: New Latin, genus name, from the countess of Chinchón † 1641 wife of the Peruvian viceroy

Date: 1786

1 : any of a genus ( Cinchona ) of So. American trees and shrubs of the madder family

2 : the dried bark of a cinchona (as C. ledgeriana ) containing alkaloids (as quinine) and formerly used as a specific in malaria

Merriam Webster Collegiate English Dictionary.      Merriam Webster - Энциклопедический словарь английского языка.