cinchona

noun cin·cho·na \siŋ-ˈkō-nə, sin-ˈchō-\

Definition of CINCHONA

: any of a genus (Cinchona) of South American trees and shrubs of the madder family

: the dried bark of a cinchona (as C. ledgeriana) containing alkaloids (as quinine) and formerly used as a specific in malaria

See cinchona defined for kids

Origin of CINCHONA

New Latin, genus name, from the countess of Chinchón †1641 wife of the Peruvian viceroy

First Known Use: 1786

Rhymes with CINCHONA

Ancona, Bellona, Carmona, corona, madrone, Pamplona, persona, Pomona

CINCHONA Defined for Kids

cinchona

noun cin·cho·na \siŋ-ˈkō-nə\

Definition of CINCHONA for Kids

: a South American tree whose bark yields quinine

Medical Dictionary

cinchona

noun cin·cho·na \siŋ-ˈkō-nə, sin-ˈchō-\

Medical Definition of CINCHONA

capitalized : a large genus of South American trees and shrubs of the madder family

: a tree of the genus Cinchona

: the dried bark of any of several trees of the genus Cinchona (especially C. ledgeriana and C. succirubra or their hybrids) containing alkaloids (as quinine, cinchonine, quinidine, and cinchonidine) and being used especially formerly as a specific in malaria, an antipyretic in other fevers, and a tonic and stomachic—called also cinchona bark, Jesuits' bark, Peruvian bark

Biographical Note for CINCHONA

Chin·chón \chin-ˈchōn\ , Countess of (Doña Francisca Henriquez de Ribera) vicereine. According to a legend first given out in 1663 and supposedly based on a now-lost letter, Countess Chinchón, the wife of the viceroy of Peru, fell ill with malaria. The governor of a neighboring province quickly provided a remedy in the form of a certain tree bark. The countess experienced a seemingly miraculous recovery, and word of the bark's extraordinary powers quickly spread. The name of the countess henceforth became associated with the bark. While the story is apocryphal, Linnaeus perpetuated the name of the countess, albeit in misspelled form, by designating the genus of that tree Cinchona in her honor.