Logwood
/ˈlɒɡ.wʊd/noun
A tropical tree, or its dense heartwood, used to produce red, purple, and black dyes.
Did you know?Logwood heartwood contains hematoxylin, which oxidizes into the deep red-purple dye hematein and was historically used for textiles, inks, and microscopy stains.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*widhu-
“Tree or wood; the ancient root underlying Germanic words for wood.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*widuz
“Wood or forest.”
Old English
Old English
wudu
“Wood, timber, or forest.”
Middle English
Middle English
log
“A large piece of cut wood or timber; probably borrowed from a Scandinavian source.”
Middle English
Middle English
wode
“Wood or timber, continuing the Old English form.”
16th Century
English
logwood
“The imported timber of tropical trees used chiefly as a dye source.”
Modern English
English
logwood
“The tree or heartwood of Haematoxylum campechianum and related species, valued for its dye.”