n. The reddish wood of certain tropical trees or shrubs in the pea family, especially the Brazilian tree Caesalpinia echinata, used for violin bows and as a source of a red or purplish dye. [Obsolete brazil, brazilwood (from Middle English brasile, an Asian variety of brazilwood, ultimately, partly via Medieval Latin brasilium, from Old Spanish brasil, from brasa, hot coals (in reference to its color), of Germanic origin; see bhreu- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots) + WOOD1.] |
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