the bark of any of several tropical trees of the rubiaceous genus Cinchona, esp C. calisaya, from which quinine is extracted
Also called: calisaya bark, yellowbark, cinchona
Word origin
C19: from Spanish, from the name of a member of a Bolivian tribe who taught the usesof quinine to the Spanish
calisaya in American English
(ˌkæləˈseijə)
noun
the medicinal bark of the tree Cinchona calisaya
Word origin
[1830–40; ‹ NL, after Calisaya, name of a member of a Bolivian tribe who told the Spanish about the medicinal valuesof cinchona bark]This word is first recorded in the period 1830–40. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: format, isomerism, isometric, orientation, stroboscope