guaiacum Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun medicinal resin from the lignum vitae tree
  2. noun hard greenish-brown wood of the lignum vitae tree and other trees of the genus Guaiacum
    guaiac; lignum vitae.
  3. noun small genus of evergreen resinous trees or shrubs of warm and tropical America
    genus Guaiacum.

WordNet

Gua"ia*cum noun
Etymology
NL., fr. Sp. guayaco, from native name in Hayti.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A genus of small, crooked trees, growing in tropical America.
  2. The heart wood or the resin of the Guaiacum offinale or lignum-vitæ, a large tree of the West Indies and Central America. It is much used in medicine. Written also guaiac.

Webster 1913