quassia
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quassia definition
quas·sia (kwäs̸h′ə, -ē ə; kwäs′ē ə)
noun
- any of a genus (Quassia) of shrubs and trees of the quassia family
- the wood of either of two tropical trees (Picrasma excela or Quassia amara) of the quassia family, used in making furniture
- a bitter drug extracted from this wood, used in insecticides and, formerly, in medicine
Etymology: ModL, after Graman Quassi, black slave of Suriname who prescribed it for fever, c. 1730
adjective
designating a family (Simaroubaceae, order Sapindales) of tropical American dicotyledonous shrubs and trees having alternate pinnate leaves, including ailanthus
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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MLA Style
"quassia." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/quassia>
APA Style
quassia. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/quassia

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