Definitions

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

  • noun A tropical shrub or tree (Croton eluteria) native to the West Indies and northern South America, having a bark that yields an aromatic spicy oil used as a flavoring and fragrance.
  • noun The bark of this plant.

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

  • noun A euphorbiaceous West Indian shrub (Croton eleutheria).
  • noun The aromatic bark of this shrub, formerly used as a gentle tonic or mixed with tobacco for smoking.

Etymologies

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

[Spanish, diminutive of cáscara, bark; see cascara buckthorn.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Spanish, small thin bark, Peruvian bark.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Stoughton, an earlier Dr Munyon or Father John, made and marketed an elixir of wormwood, germander, rhubarb, orange peel, cascarilla, and aloes. It was used to flavour alcoholic beverages and as a strong tonic for winter-weary folk.

    —James Thurber, 1952, 'Daguerreotype of a Lady', in The Thurber Album

    (It came in a Stoughton bottle.)

    July 10, 2008