'Cinchona' definitions:
Definition of 'cinchona'
From: WordNet
noun
Medicinal bark of cinchona trees; source of quinine and quinidine [syn: cinchona, cinchona bark, Peruvian bark, Jesuit's bark]
noun
Any of several trees of the genus Cinchona [syn: cinchona, chinchona]
Definition of 'Cinchona'
From: GCIDE
- Cinchona \Cin*cho"na\, n. [So named from the wife of Count Chinchon, viceroy of Peru in the seventeenth century, who by its use was freed from an intermittent fever, and after her return to Spain, contributed to the general propagation of this remedy.]
- 1. (Bot.) A genus of trees growing naturally on the Andes in Peru and adjacent countries, but now cultivated in the East Indies, producing a medicinal bark of great value. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Med.) The bark of any species of Cinchona containing three per cent. or more of bitter febrifuge alkaloids; Peruvian bark; Jesuits' bark. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'cinchona'
From: GCIDE
- Peruvian \Pe*ru"vi*an\, a. [Cf. F. p['e]ruvien, Sp. peruviano.] Of or pertaining to Peru, in South America. -- n. A native or an inhabitant of Peru. [1913 Webster]
- Peruvian balsam. See Balsam of Peru, under Balsam.
- Peruvian bark, the bitter bark of trees of various species of Cinchona. It acts as a powerful tonic, and is a remedy for malarial diseases. This property is due to several alkaloids, as quinine, cinchonine, etc., and their compounds; -- called also Jesuit's bark, and cinchona. See Cinchona. [1913 Webster]