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sass·wood

(săswd′)

A tropical African tree (Erythrophleum suaveolens) in the pea family, having bark that yields a poison and wood that is used for construction. Also called sassy.

[Alteration of earlier sassywood : sassy, sasswood, as in sassy bark, sasswood bark (of West African origin; akin to Twi `ɔ-sésé, plane tree Ewe séséwú, timber tree, and Ga (Niger-Congo language of Ghana) sèsè, kind of tree) + WOOD¹.]

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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