any tree or shrub of the South American rubiaceous genus Cinchona, esp C. calisaya, having medicinal bark
Also called: quina, quinaquina
2. Also called: cinchona bark, Peruvian bark, calisaya, china bark, quina, quinaquina
the dried bark of any of these trees, which yields quinine and other medicinal alkaloids
3.
any of the drugs derived from cinchona bark
Derived forms
cinchonic (sɪŋˈkɒnɪk)
adjective
Word origin
C18: New Latin, named after the Countess of Chinchón (1576–1639), vicereine of Peru
cinchona in American English
(sɪnˈkoʊnə)
noun
1.
any of a genus (Cinchona) of tropical South American trees of the madder family, from the bark of which quinine and related medicinal alkaloids are obtained: the trees are widely cultivated in Asia and the East Indies
2.
the bitter bark of these trees
Derived forms
cinchonic (cinˈchonic) (sɪnˈkɑnɪk)
adjective
Word origin
ModL: coined by Linnaeus after the Countess del Chinchón, wife of a 17th-c. Peruvian viceroy, who was treated for fever with the bark
Examples of 'cinchona' in a sentence
cinchona
`Norris himself is away: Java, making up his mind about cinchona futures.
Hilton, John Buxton THE INNOCENTS AT HOME (A SUPERINTENDENT KENWORTHY NOVEL)