mpingon.
/(ə)mˈpɪŋɡəʊ/, U.S. /(ə)mˈpɪŋɡoʊ/ = African blackwood n. at African n. and adj. Compounds 2b. Also called African ebony.
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1922 Man 22 92 The chief..bathes in special medicated water, a decoction made from the bark of ng'wenya and mbawa, and the root of mpingo.
1939 W. J. Eggeling & C. M. Harris Fifteen Uganda Trees 94 African Blackwood... Vernacular Names..Kenya: Mpingo.
1958 Empire Forestry Rev. 37 327 This timber with the local name of Mpingo and the trade name of East African blackwood has sometimes been confused with true ebony.
1992 Radio Times 2 May 64/4 The Mpingo tree in Tanzania has a jet-black heartwood so heavy that it sinks like a stone in water.
1997 Flora Trop. E. Afr. VI. 102 The wood of this species, under the name of African blackwood, African ebony, mpingo, poyi, is of considerable commercial value.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1922