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cro·ton

(krōtn)

1. Any of various plants of the genus Croton, which includes the sources of cascarilla bark and croton oil.

2. A closely related Old World tropical evergreen shrub (Codiaeum variegatum) widely cultivated as a houseplant for its glossy multicolored foliage.

[New Latin Croton, genus name, from Greek krotōn, castor oil plant, from krotōn, tick, sheep tick (the seeds of the castor-oil plant having a ticklike appearance).]

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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