sumach

/ ˈʃuː-; ˈsuːmæk /

noun

1. any temperate or subtropical shrub or small tree of the anacardiaceous genus Rhus, having compound leaves, clusters of green flowers, and red hairy fruits See also poison sumach
2. a preparation of powdered leaves of certain species of Rhus, esp R. coriaria, used in dyeing and tanning
3. the wood of any of these plants

Word History and Origins

Origin of sumach¹

C14: via Old French from Arabic summāq

Example Sentences

"A sumach of the Atlantic States extending through Eastern and Southern Texas to the Rio Grande."

From Project Gutenberg

The road by which we travelled was often bounded by hedges, or by walls of blocks of granite, or other kinds of stone, on which plantain, elder, stagshorn, sumach, &c., were growing.

From Project Gutenberg

The brilliant sunshine made every smallest detail clear and sharp—boulders of granite, burned stems, crimson sumach, pebbles along the shore in neat, separate detail—without revealing where the watcher hid.

From Project Gutenberg

The sumach family contains more than fifty genera, confined for the most part to the warmer regions of the globe.

From Project Gutenberg

Behind the old city, three miles from the beach, rose Mount Lebanon, clothed to its snow-clad summits with the foliage of pine, cedar, oak, and sumach.

From Project Gutenberg