any of various spiny leguminous plants of the genus Astragalus, esp A. gummifer, of Asia, having clusters of white, yellow, or purple flowers, and yielding a substance that is made into a gum
2.
the gum obtained from any of these plants, used in the manufacture of pills and lozenges, etc
Word origin
C16: from French tragacante, from Latin tragacantha goat's thorn, from Greek tragakantha, from tragos goat + akantha thorn
tragacanth in American English
(ˈtrægəˌkænθ)
noun
1.
a white or reddish, tasteless and odorless gum, used in pharmacy, calico printing, etc.
2.
any of various, esp. Asiatic, plants (genus Astragalus) of the pea family, yielding this gum
Word origin
Fr tragacanthe < L tragacantha < Gr tragakantha < tragos, goat (see tragedy) + akantha, thorn (see acantho-)