Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various often spiny trees or shrubs of the genus Acacia in the pea family, having alternate, bipinnately compound leaves or leaves represented by flattened leafstalks and heads or spikes of small flowers.
  • noun Any of several other plants in the pea family, especially of the genus Robinia.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A genus of shrubby or arboreous plants, natural order Leguminosæ, suborder Mimoseæ, natives of the warm regions of both hemispheres, especially of Australia and Africa.
  • noun A plant of the genus Acacia.
  • noun The popular name of several plants of other genera.
  • noun In medicine, the inspissated juice of several species of Acacia, popularly known as gum arabic (which see, under gum). A name given by antiquaries to an object resembling a roll of cloth, seen in the hands of consuls and emperors of the Lower Empire as represented on medals.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A genus of leguminous trees and shrubs. Nearly 300 species are Australian or Polynesian, and have terete or vertically compressed leaf stalks, instead of the bipinnate leaves of the much fewer species of America, Africa, etc. Very few are found in temperate climates.
  • noun (Med.) The inspissated juice of several species of acacia; -- called also gum acacia, and gum arabic.
  • noun (Antiq.) A roll or bag, filled with dust, borne by Byzantine emperors, as a memento of mortality. It is represented on medals.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun history, classical studies A roll or bag, filled with dust, borne by Byzantine emperors, as a memento of mortality. It is represented on medals.
  • noun loosely Any of several related trees, such as the locust.
  • noun A light to moderate greenish yellow with a hint of red. acacia colour:    

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of various spiny trees or shrubs of the genus Acacia

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Latin, from Greek akakiā.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Unknown.

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Examples

  • The thorny acacia is a good property protecting plant.

    Boost safety: Security plantings protect homes 2010

  • Where I come fromOdessa,Ukraine these trees are called acacia trees and they fill the wholy city with their head spinning aroma in June.

    Tree of Mystery Ayala Sender 2007

  • You are right, it is called acacia, but it's not a "true" acacia, like mimosas are.

    Tree of Mystery Ayala Sender 2007

  • Secondly, then, the acacia is a symbol of INNOCENCE.

    The Symbolism of Freemasonry Albert G. Mackey

  • She is worshipped chiefly by women; but some of the workers on the railroad begged branches of the feathery yellow acacia, which is now in bloom, to carry with them to the temple in San Francisco.

    Life at Puget Sound: With Sketches of Travel in Washington Territory, British Columbia, Oregon and California Caroline C. Leighton

  • Their course is marked by an acacia, which is somewhat analogous in its general characteristics to the common wattle; a few are favoured with some box trees, but we only found water in one.

    Successful Exploration Through the Interior of Australia William John Wills 1847

  • The supply of gum arabic, also known as acacia gum as it comes from acacia trees in the gum belt of Africa, is variable due to climatic factors and ongoing political unrest in the countries where it is sourced, such as Sudan and Nigeria.

    ConfectioneryNews RSS 2009

  • The supply of gum arabic, also known as acacia gum as it comes from acacia trees in the gum belt of Africa, is variable due to climatic factors and ongoing political unrest in the countries where it is sourced, such as Sudan and Nigeria.

    FoodNavigator-USA RSS 2009

  • The supply of gum arabic, also known as acacia gum as it comes from acacia trees in the gum belt of Africa, is variable due to climatic factors and ongoing political unrest in the countries where it is sourced, such as Sudan and Nigeria.

    ConfectioneryNews RSS 2009

  • I keep on coming back to acacias including one false acacia which is actually a kind of honeylocust, but seems to be native to North America, which means the Israel location is not likely.

    Living White Chocolate Perfume Ayala Sender 2008

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