'Guaiacum' definitions:

Definition of 'guaiacum'

noun

Medicinal resin from the lignum vitae tree

noun

Hard greenish-brown wood of the lignum vitae tree and other trees of the genus Guaiacum [syn: lignum vitae, guaiac, guaiacum]

noun

Small genus of evergreen resinous trees or shrubs of warm and tropical America [syn: Guaiacum, genus Guaiacum]

From: GCIDE

Guaiacum \Gua"ia*cum\, n. [NL., fr. Sp. guayaco, from native name in Haiti.]
1. (Bot.) A genus of small, crooked trees, growing in tropical America. [1913 Webster]
2. The heart wood or the resin of the Guaiacum officinale or lignum-vit[ae], a large tree of the West Indies and Central America. It is much used in medicine. [Written also guaiac.] [1913 Webster]

From: GCIDE

Lignum-vitae \Lig"num-vi"tae\ (l[i^]g"n[u^]m v[imac]"t[=e]), n. [L., wood of life; lignum wood + vita, genitive vit[ae], life.] (Bot.) A tree (Guaiacum officinale) found in the warm latitudes of America, from which the guaiacum of medicine is procured. Its wood is very hard and heavy, and is used for various mechanical purposes, as for the wheels of ships' blocks, cogs, bearings, and the like. See Guaiacum. [1913 Webster]
Note: In New Zealand the Metrosideros buxifolia is called lignum-vit[ae], and in Australia a species of Acacia. The bastard lignum-vit[ae] is a West Indian tree (Sarcomphalus laurinus). [1913 Webster]