Definitions

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

  • noun Either of two South American trees, Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco whose bark is used in medicine, or Schinopsis lorentzii whose wood is an important source of tannin.
  • noun The bark or wood of either of these trees.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The name of several hard-wooded South American trees of economic value.

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

  • noun (Bot.) A Chilian apocynaceous tree (Aspidosperma Quebracho); also, its bark, which is used as a febrifuge, and for dyspnœa of the lung, or bronchial diseases; -- called also white quebracho, to distinguish it from the red quebracho, a Mexican anacardiaceous tree (Loxopterygium Lorentzii) whose bark is said to have similar properties.

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

  • noun botany A Chilean apocynaceous tree, Aspidosperma quebracho

Etymologies

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

[Spanish, alteration of quiebrahacha : quebrar, to break (from Latin crepāre, to crack) + hacha, ax (from French hache, from Old French, of Germanic origin).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Spanish quebracho

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Examples

  • The word "quebracho" (pronounced KAYBRATSHO) signifies axe-breaking, and even modern tools do not retain their edge long when working on this wood.

    Argentina from a British Point of View Various

  • To the right is a large pit, filled with the smoky aroma of quebracho a red hardwood, which has been slowly turning into embers for the past hour-and-a-half.

    Barbecuing the Perfect Steak Jemima Sissons 2011

  • Collection of the quebracho blanco has also been a problem; it is often used to make carbon, and its bark is used for medicine.

    Humid Chaco 2008

  • The forests are composed of quebracho colorado (Schinopsis balansae) and quebracho blanco (Apidosperma quebracho-blanco).

    Humid Chaco 2008

  • The quebracho colorado has been very exploited for its hard, almost imperishable wood, which has been used to make railroad ties and posts.

    Humid Chaco 2008

  • Ischigualasto-Talampaya has a sparse vegetation characterized by xeric shrubs and cactus, and mesquite Prosopis sp. and quebracho Aspidosperma sp. trees.

    Ischigualasto-Talampaya, Argentina 2008

  • The original spiny forest contained species such as Acacia caven, Prosopis aplataco, Dodonea viscosa, with some regions including species such as Schinopsis haenckeana and Aspidosperma quebracho colorado.

    Bolivian montane dry forests 2007

  • Plants more commonly associated with this ecoregion include Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco, Prosopis flexuosa, Ziziphus mistol, and Opuntia spp ..

    Arid Chaco 2007

  • The bark and extract of the quebracho, a South American tree, are being imported for use in tanning, and are still further reducing the drain on our own forests.

    Checking the Waste A Study in Conservation Mary Huston Gregory

  • As we got further away, we came upon many more of these streams, all looking much the same; some had bridges over them made of quebracho logs, laid endways on and covered with earth, very dangerous to cross after wet weather or floods, especially at night, as they are generally full of holes where the earth has fallen in.

    Argentina from a British Point of View Various

Comments

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  • From Wiki:

    For the left-wing Argentine group, see Quebracho (group).

    Quebracho is one of the common names, in Spanish, of at least three similar species of trees that grow in the Gran Chaco region of South America.

    Maybe I should start learning Spanish... (see Iroquois).

    March 27, 2008