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quinine definition

qui·nine (kwī′nīn′; chiefly Brit kwi nēn′)

noun

  1. a bitter, crystalline alkaloid, CHNO, extracted from cinchona bark
  2. any compound of this, as quinine sulfate, used in medicine for various purposes, esp. for treating malaria

Etymology: < quina, cinchona bark (< Sp < Quechua quinina, medicinal plant) + -ine

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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