cinchona

[ sing-koh-nuh, sin- ]

noun

1. any of several trees or shrubs of the genus Cinchona, of the madder family, especially C. calisaya, native to the Andes, cultivated there and in Java and India for its bark, which yields quinine and other alkaloids.
2. Also called Jesuit's bark, Peruvian bark. the medicinal bark of such trees or shrubs.

cinchona

/ sɪŋˈkɒnɪk; sɪŋˈkəʊnə /

noun

1. any tree or shrub of the South American rubiaceous genus Cinchona, esp C. calisaya, having medicinal bark
2. Also calledcinchona barkPeruvian barkcalisayachina bark the dried bark of any of these trees, which yields quinine and other medicinal alkaloids
3. any of the drugs derived from cinchona bark

Derived Forms

• cinchonic, adjective

Other Words From

• cin·chon·ic [sin-, kon, -ik], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cinchona¹

< New Latin, the Linnaean genus name, after Francisca Enriques de Ribera, Countess of Chinchón (died 1641), who was associated with the introduction of quinine into Europe, in several accounts now considered spurious

Word History and Origins

Origin of cinchona¹

C18: New Latin, named after the Countess of Chinchón (1576–1639), vicereine of Peru

Example Sentences

Carbonated water failed to do that but it did inspire the creation of medicated water, or tonic water infused with quinine from the bark of the cinchona tree.

From Salon

At the time, the only medicine to combat malaria was quinine, which is extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree.

From Literature

Oddly, von Hippel traces the birth of the modern chemical industry to the extraction of quinine from cinchona bark in the 1820s.

From Nature

Officials have even said that Indian plantations could increase the growing capacity of cinchona trees, whose bark contains the compound quinine, which has been used to treat malaria since the 1860s.

From Washington Times

Experimenting with quinine from imported cinchona tree bark, he came up with his famous “fever pill” in 1832, according to the State Historical Society of Missouri.

From Washington Post