guaiacum

3 definitions found

guaiacum - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Guaiacum \Gua"ia*cum\, n. [NL., fr. Sp. guayaco, from native
     name in Haiti.]
     1. (Bot.) A genus of small, crooked trees, growing in
        tropical America.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The heart wood or the resin of the Guaiacum officinale
        or lignum-vit[ae], a large tree of the West Indies and
        Central America. It is much used in medicine. [Written
        also guaiac.]
        [1913 Webster]

  Lignum-vitae \Lig"num-vi"tae\ (l[i^]g"n[u^]m v[imac]"t[=e]), n.
     [L., wood of life; lignum wood + vita, genitive vit[ae],
     life.] (Bot.)
     A tree (Guaiacum officinale) found in the warm latitudes of
     America, from which the guaiacum of medicine is procured.
     Its wood is very hard and heavy, and is used for various
     mechanical purposes, as for the wheels of ships' blocks,
     cogs, bearings, and the like. See Guaiacum.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: In New Zealand the Metrosideros buxifolia is called
           lignum-vit[ae], and in Australia a species of Acacia.
           The bastard lignum-vit[ae] is a West Indian tree
           (Sarcomphalus laurinus).
           [1913 Webster]

guaiacum - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  guaiacum
      n 1: medicinal resin from the lignum vitae tree
      2: hard greenish-brown wood of the lignum vitae tree and other
         trees of the genus Guaiacum [syn: lignum vitae, guaiac,
         guaiacum]
      3: small genus of evergreen resinous trees or shrubs of warm and
         tropical America [syn: Guaiacum, genus Guaiacum]