lignum vitae

lig·num vi·tae

L0166900 (lĭg′nəm vī′tē)n. pl. lignum vitaes 1. Any of several tropical American trees of the genus Guaiacum, especially G. officinale or G. sanctum, having evergreen leaves and very heavy, durable, resinous wood.2. The wood of any of these trees, the hardest of commercial woods.

[New Latin lignum vītae : Latin lignum, wood + Latin vītae, genitive of vīta, life.]

lignum vitae

(ˈlɪɡnəm ˈvaɪtɪ) n1. (Plants) either of two zygophyllaceous tropical American trees, Guaiacum officinale or G. sanctum, having blue or purple flowers2. (Forestry) the heavy resinous wood of either of these trees, which is used in machine bearings, casters, etc: formerly thought to have medicinal properties[New Latin, from Late Latin, literally: wood of life]

lig•num vi•tae

(ˈlɪg nəm ˈvaɪ ti, ˈvi taɪ)
n. 1. guaiacum (def. 1). 2. the hard, heavy wood of the guaiacum, used for making pulley heads, mallets, etc. [1585–95; < New Latin, Late Latin, literally, wood of life]

lignum vitae

A Latin phrase meaning wood of life, used to mean either of two types of tropical American tree.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	lignum vitae - hard greenish-brown wood of the lignum vitae tree and other trees of the genus Guaiacumguaiac, guaiacumGuaiacum officinale, lignum vitae - small evergreen tree of Caribbean and southern Central America to northern South America; a source of lignum vitae wood, hardest of commercial timbers, and a medicinal resinwood - the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
	2.	lignum vitae - small evergreen tree of Caribbean and southern Central America to northern South America; a source of lignum vitae wood, hardest of commercial timbers, and a medicinal resinGuaiacum officinalegenus Guaiacum, Guaiacum - small genus of evergreen resinous trees or shrubs of warm and tropical Americaguaiac, lignum vitae, guaiacum - hard greenish-brown wood of the lignum vitae tree and other trees of the genus Guaiacumguaiacum - medicinal resin from the lignum vitae treeangiospermous tree, flowering tree - any tree having seeds and ovules contained in the ovary

Translations

lignum vitae

(lĭg`nəm vī`tē) [Lat.,=wood of life], tropical American evergreen tree of the genus Guaiacum. The hard, dense, and extremely durable wood, obtained chiefly from G. officinale and G. sanctum, is used for ship construction, butcher blocks, and other articles requiring strength and hardness. The trees are cultivated to some extent in Florida and California for ornament. They also yield guaiacum, a gum resinresin,
any of a class of amorphous solids or semisolids. Resins are found in nature and are chiefly of vegetable origin. They are typically light yellow to dark brown in color; tasteless; odorless or faintly aromatic; translucent or transparent; brittle, fracturing like glass;
..... Click the link for more information. used in certain drugs. Various other hardwoods of Australasia (e.g., the acacia and eucalyptus) are also called lignum vitae. Lignum vitae is classified in several orders in the division MagnoliophytaMagnoliophyta
, division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called the flowering plants, or angiosperms. The angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue (xylem and phloem).
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Sapindales, family Zygophyllaceae.

lignum vitae

1. either of two zygophyllaceous tropical American trees, Guaiacum officinale or G. sanctum, having blue or purple flowers 2. the heavy resinous wood of either of these trees, which is used in machine bearings, casters, etc.: formerly thought to have medicinal properties

lignum vitae

Herbal medicine
A Caribbean tree that is rich in saponins, resin, guaiaretic and guaiacolic acids; it is anti-inflammatory, laxative and stimulatory, and has been used to treat arthritis and gout; its products have been commercialised in mainstream medicine in the guaiac test for occult bleeding of the large intestine, which is often a sign of colorectal cancer.

lignum vitae

noun

Synonyms for lignum vitae

noun hard greenish-brown wood of the lignum vitae tree and other trees of the genus Guaiacum

Synonyms

guaiac
guaiacum

Related Words

Guaiacum officinale
lignum vitae
wood

noun small evergreen tree of Caribbean and southern Central America to northern South America

Synonyms

Guaiacum officinale

Related Words

genus Guaiacum
Guaiacum
guaiac
lignum vitae
angiospermous tree
flowering tree