noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A gummy extract of any of several species of Acacieae, but especially Senegalia catechu, produced by boiling the wood of the tree in water and evaporating the resulting liquid. countable, uncountable

   "The pale catechus are usually sweeter and more pleasant for chewing."

2. 2
   East Indian spiny tree having twice-pinnate leaves and yellow flowers followed by flat pods; source of black catechu wordnet
3. 3
   extract of the heartwood of Acacia catechu used for dyeing and tanning and preserving fishnets and sails; formerly used medicinally wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

acacia catechublack catechublack catechucachoujapanese earthjerusalem thorn

Example

More examples

"The pale catechus are usually sweeter and more pleasant for chewing."

Etymology

Probably a corruption of the Malay kacu.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.