cin·cho·na
(sĭng-kō′nə, sĭn-chō′-)n.1. Any of various evergreen trees and shrubs of the genus Cinchona, native chiefly to the Andes, some species of which are cultivated for their bark, which contains quinine and other alkaloids used chiefly to treat malaria.
2. The dried bark of any of these plants. Also called Jesuit's bark, Peruvian bark.
[New Latin Cinchona, genus name, reputedly after Francisca Henríquez de Ribera (1576-1639), Countess of Chinchón.]
cin·chon′ic (sĭng-kŏn′ĭk, sĭn-chŏn′-) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.