quassian.
/ˈkwɒʃ(ɪ)ə/, /ˈkwaʃ(ɪ)ə/, /ˈkwasɪə/, U.S. /ˈkwɑʃ(i)ə/, /ˈkwɑsiə/ 1. (a) More fully Suriname quassia. The tropical American tree Quassia amara (family Simaroubaceae). Also (in form Quassia): the genus to which this tree belongs, formerly (and sometimes still) including various other tropical trees, several of which yield medicinal or insecticidal substances. (b) More fully Jamaica quassia. The related West Indian tree Picrasma excelsa, of the same family; also called bitter ash.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines of specific form > decoction or infusion > [noun] > specific decoction or infusion
sabras?c1225
tisanea1398
tamarisk1597
wort1694
sage tea?1706
poppy tea1709
yapon tea1723
herb-tea1744
spring juices1751
balm-tea1752
camomile-tea1753
uva ursi1753
nettle tea1758
bush tea1768
quassia1778
majo bitters1866
Mexican tea1866
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > non-British medicinal trees or shrubs > quassias
simarouba1746
mountain damson1778
quassia1778
cedron1882
1778 Trans. Royal Soc. Edinb. (1790) 2 76 On examining the fructification, I found this tree [sc. simaruba] to be a species of Quassia.
1794 T. Martyn tr. J. J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. (ed. 4) xxxi. 473 But many have five scales: as Parnassia..: at the base of the filaments in Schrebera.., Quassia.., and Melastoma.
1849 J. H. Balfour Man. Bot. §831 Simarubaceæ, the Quassia and Simaruba Family.
1859 All Year Round 3 Dec. 127 Why not..cultivate..quassia, which is such a handsome shrub?
1876 J. Harley Royle's Man. Materia Med. (ed. 6) 673 Quassia bears some resemblance to the common ash, attains a height of 50, 60, or even 100 feet.
1916 E. V. Wilcox Trop. Agric. xiv. 226 The Jamaica quassia..is a handsome tree attaining a height of 100 feet or more and a diameter of 3 feet.
1989 Martindale: Extra Pharmacopoeia (ed. 29) 1609/1 Quassia, the dried stem-wood of Jamaica Quassia, Picrasma excelsa (Simaroubaceae) or of Surinam Quassia, Quassis amara (Simaroubaceae).
1996 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 83 201 The systematic position of Peganum is discussed in relation to other Zygophyllaceae using a cladistic analysis with Ptelea (Rutaceae) and Quassia (Simaroubaceae) as outgroups.
2. (a) The bitter-tasting wood, bark, or root of Quassia amara; a medicinal preparation made from this, usually by infusion, used as an antipyretic or parasiticide. (b) The wood or bark of Picrasma excelsa; a preparation made from this, used medicinally and (now chiefly) as a natural insecticide.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > non-British medicinal trees or shrubs > quassias > wood, bark, or root of
simarouba1733
quassia1784
quassia bark1785
quassia wood1787
1784 W. Lewis Exper. Hist. Materia Medica (ed. 3) 529 Some further experiments on the quassia are contained in a late medical thesis by Dr. Ebeling.
1803 H. Davy in Philos. Trans. 93 268 The infusions of quassia..are scarcely affected by muriate of tin.
1828 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 834 Quassia might be distributed gratis at Apothecary's Hall, as vaccinatory matter is at the Cow-pox Hospital.
1876 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. (ed. 2) II. xxi. 55 An enema of some bitter vegetable infusion, such as quassia.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 530/2 The best fruit farmers spray fruit trees regularly in the early spring..with quassia and soft soap and paraffin emulsions.
1937 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 59 927/1 The bitter and presumably the physiologically active constituent of quassia wood or Surinam wood..is known as quassia.
1991 Amer. Horticulturist July 3/2 Quassia is perhaps the safest of the botanical pesticides.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
quassia bark n.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > non-British medicinal trees or shrubs > quassias > wood, bark, or root of
simarouba1733
quassia1784
quassia bark1785
quassia wood1787
1785 G. Blane Observ. Dis. Seamen iii. i. 383 The most proper remedies, then, are bitters, such as decoctions of Peruvian bark, infusions of quassia bark, gentian or camomile flowers.
1855 J. Ogilvie Suppl. Imperial Dict. Fly-water, a solution of arsenic, or decoction of quassia-bark, for killing flies.
2001 Evening News (Edinburgh) (Nexis) 9 July 16 Quassia bark has been used for centuries as a natural way of eradicating infestations of lice and fleas, and is a traditional insect repellent.
quassia chips n.
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1832 A. T. Thomson Elem. Materia Medica & Therapeutics I. 669 Quassina..is obtained by evaporating a strong decoction of Quassia chips to the consistency of an extract.
1900 G. S. Saunders in E. T. Cook Cent. Bk. Gardening 508 Quassia chips should be soaked..and then boiled.
1997 Independent 25 Feb. ii. 9/2 Natural remedies for head lice using quassia chips or essential oils abound.
quassia extract n.
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1869 A. S. Wright Wright's Bk. 3000 Pract. Receipts 63 Brewers Bittern... Extract of quassia, extract of cocculus indicus, extract of liquorice, sulphate of iron, equal parts.]
1900 G. S. Saunders in E. T. Cook Cent. Bk. Gardening 509 Quassia extract may be bought... This is a very useful insecticide.
1951 Dict. Gardening (Royal Hort. Soc.) IV. 1723/2 Quassia extract was also used with sugar in the making of fly-papers.
1971 Biogr. Mem. Fellows Royal Soc. 17 624 The resolution of quassia extract into its two major components, quassin and neo-quassin.
quassia tincture n. rare
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1881 Lancet 5 Feb. 222/1 Dr. Manson refers to the results of his administration of quinine, nitrite of amyl, santonin, inhalations of turpentine, and quassia tincture sprays.
1978 Acta Dermato-venereologica 58 557 This study confirms earlier reports on the effectiveness of quassia tincture [in the treatment of head lice].
quassia tree n.
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1787 Mem. Med. Soc. 1 137 As to what relates farther to the Quassia tree, we may observe, that it has flourished many years in the garden of the Academy and grown to the height of eight feet.
1860 G. W. S. Piesse Lab. Chem. Wonders 171 The purest bitter principle is yielded by the quassia tree.
1991 Amer. Horticulturist July 3/2 The tree-of-heaven.., a close relative to the quassia tree, appears to have similar properties.
quassia wood n.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > non-British medicinal trees or shrubs > quassias > wood, bark, or root of
simarouba1733
quassia1784
quassia bark1785
quassia wood1787
1787 Mem. Med. Soc. 1 138 Quassia Wood is the descending trunk, or root of the before-mentioned tree, which, however, is not distinguished from other woods by any particular mark.
1834 T. J. Graham Mod. Domest. Med. (ed. 6) 70 Quassia wood comes from Jamaica and the Caribbean islands.
1951 Dict. Gardening (Royal Hort. Soc.) IV. 1723/2 It is said that insects cannot live in boxes made of quassia wood.
C2.
quassia cup n. now historical a drinking cup made of quassia wood; cf. bitter-cup n. at bitter adj. and n.1 Compounds 2.
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the world > food and drink > drink > containers for drink > drinking vessel > [noun] > wooden
rabbit1685
coga1689
sapling-cup1851
quassia cup1856
bidon1867
1856 C. R. Gilman Lect. Materia Medica (ed. 2) 457 Quassia Cups have of late been much used. They give the Quassia bitter to water in a few moments.
1884 C. F. Millspaugh Amer. Medicinal Plants (1892) 133 The West-Indian Jamaica Quassia or Bitter Ash.., noted for its extreme and lasting bitter wood, so largely used in commerce for the manufacture of Quassia-cups.
1968 News (Frederick, Maryland) 24 Oct. c6/8 A quassia cup..was an old-fashioned remedy that people had for everything from rheumatism through brain fever.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1778