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cas·sia (kăshə)
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n.
1. Any of various chiefly tropical or subtropical trees, shrubs, or herbs of the genus Cassia in the pea family, having pinnately compound leaves, usually yellow flowers, and long, flat or cylindrical pods.
2.
a. A tropical evergreen tree (Cinnamomum aromaticum syn. C. cassia) of East and Southeast Asia, having aromatic inner bark.
b. The bark of this tree, often ground and used as a spice. It is the chief source of cinnamon in the United States.
[Middle English, from Latin casia, cassia, aromatic tree of the genus Cinnamomum, from Greek kasiā, kassiā, probably of Phoenician origin; akin to Hebrew qəṣīyâ, tree of the genus Cinnamomum yielding a spice inferior to cinnamon, probably ultimately of Chinese origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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