Cinchonin
/ˌsɪŋ.kəˈniːn/noun
A bitter alkaloid found in cinchona bark and used historically in medicine.
Did you know?Cinchonin was named from cinchona, the New World tree whose bark became one of Europe’s most famous anti-fever remedies, and its name ultimately traces back to a colonial-era story about a countess’s miraculous cure.
Etymological Timeline
19th Century
English
cinchonin
“A bitter alkaloid isolated from cinchona bark”
19th Century
New Latin
cinchoninum
“Scientific name for the alkaloid”
17th Century
Spanish
quina-quina / cinchona
“The Peruvian bark tree associated with fever remedies”
17th Century
Spanish/Latin
Cinchón
“The Countess of Chinchón, linked in the traditional naming story”
Earlier colonial period
Quechua/Andean
kina / quina
“Bark or bark used medicinally, source of the common cinchona name”