a·ya·hua·sca
(ī′yə-wä′skə, ä′yə-)n. A hallucinogenic brew made from the bark and stems of a tropical South American vine of the genus Banisteriopsis, especially B. caapi, mixed with other psychotropic plants, used especially in shamanistic rituals by certain Amazonian Indian peoples.
[American Spanish, from Quechua, rope of the dead, narcotic : aya, corpse + huasca, rope.]
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.
ayahuasca
(ˌaɪəˈwɑːskə) or ayahuasco
n (Plants) a Brazilian plant, Banisteriopsis caapi, that has winged fruits and yields a powerful hallucinogenic alkaloid sometimes used to treat certain disorders of the central nervous system: family Malpighiaceae
[C20: from Quechua]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
a•ya•huas•ca
(ˌɑ yəˈwɑ skə)
n., pl. -cas. a woody South American vine, Banisteriopsis caapi, of the malpighia family, having bark that is the source of harmine, a hallucinogenic alkaloid used by Indians of the Amazon basin.
[< American Spanish; further orig. uncertain]
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