lignum vitae

American  

[lig-nuhm vahy-tee, vee-tahy] / ˈlɪg nəm ˈvaɪ ti, ˈvi taɪ /

noun

1. either of two tropical American trees, Guaiacum officinale or G. sanctum, of the caltrop family, having very hard, heavy wood.

2. the wood of such a tree, used for making pulley blocks, mallet heads, bearings, etc.

3. any of several other trees yielding a similar hard wood.

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lignum vitae British  

/ ˈlɪɡnəm ˈvaɪtɪ /

noun

1. either of two zygophyllaceous tropical American trees, Guaiacum officinale or G. sanctum, having blue or purple flowers

2. the heavy resinous wood of either of these trees, which is used in machine bearings, casters, etc: formerly thought to have medicinal properties

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Etymology

Origin of lignum vitae

1585–95; < New Latin, Late Latin, name of the tree, literally, wood of life

Example Sentences

There he crouched and reached inside the sleeve of his coat for the short, heavy stick of lignum vitae he carried along his left forearm.

From Literature

The scents are created using native flowers — such as hibiscus, lignum vitae, elderflower — from St. Martin, Aruba, St. Thomas and other islands.

From Los Angeles Times

The stone knocked Merlyn’s hat off as clean as a whistle, and the old gentleman chased him featly down the stairs, waving his wand of lignum vitae.

From Literature

The difference in color between them is very marked in some woods, as in lignum vitae and black walnut, and very slight in others, 18 as spruce and bass.

From Project Gutenberg

From LA to Edinburgh Macdonald made at least one other sculpture of Parker, a full-length figure carved from lignum vitae, a dark hardwood.

From The Guardian