/poyn set"ee euh, -set"euh/ , n.
a plant, Euphorbia ( Poinsettia ) pulcherrima, of the spurge family, native to Mexico and Central America, having variously lobed leaves and brilliant scarlet, pink, or white petallike bracts.
[ 1830-40; Poinsett (1799-1851), American minister to Mexico, who discovered the plant there in 1828; see -IA ]