cinnamon

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The dried aromatic inner bark of certain tropical Asian trees in the genus Cinnamomum, especially C. verum and C. loureirii, often ground and used as a spice.
2. n. A plant yielding this bark.
3. n. A light reddish brown.
4. adj. Of a light reddish brown.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A tree of the genus Cinnamomum, especially C. Zeylanicum. This tree is cultivated for its bark in Ceylon, Sumatra, and Borneo, and on the Malabar coast. It is sometimes confounded with C. Cassia, which yields the Chinese cinnamon or common cassia-lignea (which see).
2. n. The inner bark ot Cinnamomum Zeylanicum. It is stripped from the branches, and in drying takes the form of rolls called quills, the smaller quills being introduced as they are drying into the larger ones. The true cinnamon is a grateful aromatic, of a fragrant smell and moderately pungent taste, accompanied with some degree of sweetness and astringency. It is used in medicine for its cordial and carminative properties, and is one of the best restorative spices. The bark of C. Cassia, being cheaper, is often substituted for true cinnamon, but it is thicker, coarser, and less delicate in flavor.
3. Of the color of cinnamon; light reddish-brown.

Wiktionary

1. n. countable A small evergreen tree native to Sri Lanka and southern India, Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum zeylanicum, belonging to the family Lauraceae.
2. n. Several related trees, notably the Indonesian cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmannii) and Chinese cinnamon or cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum or Cinnamomum cassia).
3. n. uncountable A spice from the dried aromatic bark of the cinnamon tree, either rolled into strips or ground into a powder. The word is commonly used as trade name for spices made of any of the species above. The product made of Cinnamomum verum is sometimes referred to as true cinnamon.
4. n. countable A yellowish-brown colour, the color of cinnamon.
5. adj. Containing cinnamon, or having a cinnamon taste.
6. adj. Of a yellowish-brown colour.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The inner bark of the shoots of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum, a tree growing in Ceylon. It is aromatic, of a moderately pungent taste, and is one of the best cordial, carminative, and restorative spices.
2. n. Cassia.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. spice from the dried aromatic bark of the Ceylon cinnamon tree; used as rolled strips or ground
2. n. aromatic bark used as a spice
3. n. tropical Asian tree with aromatic yellowish-brown bark; source of the spice cinnamon