Quassin
/ˈkwæsɪn/noun
A bitter crystalline compound found chiefly in the wood of quassia trees.
Did you know?The plant genus Quassia was named after Quassia, an eighteenth-century healer in Suriname whose knowledge of its medicinal bark was recorded by Europeans.
Etymological Timeline
Before the 18th Century
Akan
Kwasi
“A male child born on Sunday; a personal name associated with the healer later called Quassia.”
18th Century
Dutch/Surinamese usage
Quassia
“The name used for the healer Quassia and subsequently associated with the bitter medicinal tree whose bark he used.”
1750s
Latin botanical nomenclature
Quassia
“The genus name assigned to the quassia tree in recognition of Quassia’s botanical and medicinal knowledge.”
Early 19th Century
Scientific English
quassin
“A bitter constituent isolated from quassia wood; the chemical suffix -in indicated a substance or principle.”
Modern English
English
quassin
“An intensely bitter crystalline compound, now classified among the quassinoids.”
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