Logwood
noun
noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A tree of species Haematoxylum campechianum, in the legume family, of great economic importance and growing throughout Central America. countable, uncountable
- 2 spiny shrub or small tree of Central America and West Indies having bipinnate leaves and racemes of small bright yellow flowers and yielding a hard brown or brownish-red heartwood used in preparing a black dye wordnet
- 3 Any of various trees of the genus Xylosma in the willow family. countable, uncountable
- 4 very hard brown to brownish-red heartwood of a logwood tree; used in preparing a purplish red dye wordnet
- 5 Wood of any of these trees. countable, uncountable
"In the latter part of the eighteenth century in Maryland, [Easter] eggs were boiled in logwood which dyed the shells crimson, and the patterns would be scratched away with a pin."
Example
More examples"In the latter part of the eighteenth century in Maryland, [Easter] eggs were boiled in logwood which dyed the shells crimson, and the patterns would be scratched away with a pin."
Etymology
From log + wood.
Related phrases
More for "logwood"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.