sumac

Or su·mach

[soo-mak, shoo-]

noun

1. any of several shrubs or small trees belonging to the genus Rhus of the cashew family, having milky sap, compound leaves, and small, fleshy fruit.

2. a preparation of the dried and powdered leaves, bark, etc., of certain species of Rhus, especially R. coriaria of southern Europe, used especially in tanning.

3. the wood of these trees.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sumac¹

1250–1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin < Arabic summāq

Example Sentences

He flips a jar of sumac between his hands like a baseball while teasing a regular, a woman in zebra-print pants with a diamond wedding ring the size of a quail’s egg.

From Salon

I share Vejar’s loathing for the relentless “tree of heaven,” the deciduous plant that is sometimes called a stinking sumac.

From Los Angeles Times

“Once I started playing around with flavor combinations that I love — like rhubarb, mint, sumac and mascarpone and black and white cookies — I realized the world is our cookie salad oyster.”

From Salon

If you don’t have sumac or lemon on hand, you can even try something flashier, like balsamic, Worcestershire, fish sauce, soy sauce or the like.

From Salon

Hillsides choked with sumac, sage and buckwheat a week earlier now had the look of the inside of a very ancient barbecue.

From Los Angeles Times