Barbasco
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A plant (Lonchocarpus urucu, now Deguelia rufescens var. urucu) native to parts of northern South America used as a poison for fishing and an insecticide. countable, uncountable
- 2 West Indian shrub or small tree having leathery saponaceous leaves and extremely hard wood wordnet
- 3 An evergreen (Jacquinia barbasco, now Jacquinia arborea) countable, uncountable
- 4 One of several inedible wild Mexican yams (Dioscorea mexicana and Dioscorea composita) from which progesterone can be synthesized. countable, uncountable
Etymology
From American Spanish barbasco, perhaps alteration of Spanish verbasco, varbasco (“mullein”), from Latin verbascum.