sumac
/ˈsuːˌmæk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.34 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Rhus and certain other genera in Anacardiaceae.
Uncountable
noun
Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Rhus and certain other genera in Anacardiaceae.
Uncountable
noun
Dried and chopped-up leaves and stems of a plant of the genus Rhus, particularly tanner's sumac (see sense 1), used for dyeing and tanning leather or for medicinal purposes.
Uncountable
noun
A sour spice popular in the Eastern Mediterranean, made from the berries of tanner's sumac.
Uncountable
verb
To apply a preparation of sumac to (an object), for example, to a piece of leather to tan it.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "The Rhamnus of Maderaspatan, and the Trifoliate Sumachs from the Coaſt of Africa, are altogether new."
- "Shumack, Chapacour, and the famous Snake-root, ſo much admir'd in England for being a Cordial, and an Antidote in all Peſtilential Diſeases."
- "In the mean Time, gargle your Throat, and waſh all your Sores, and Ulcers with the ſame warm Liquor, which ought to be made freſh every 2 Days. Beſides all this, you muſt chew the Sumac Root very often, and ſwallow the healing Juice."
- "Plant cutings of Myrtles in a bed of light rich earth, obſerving to water and ſhade them until they have taken root; and now you may plant cutings of [...] African Sumaches, and many other exotic plants, which are ſhrubby; [...]"
- "Often, on descending into the narrow valleys, we found a little spot of cultivation, a garden, or a field hedged round with shumacs, rhododendrons, and azalias, and a cottage covered with roses."
- "Immediately after leaving the town, on each side of the road, were the purple flowers of the iron-weed and the red shumack, under which the deer love to repose, for it conceals them from their enemies, as the variegated heath did the tartan-clad Highlanders."
Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English sumac, asimac, simak, sumak, symak (“portions of the shrub Rhus coriaria, chiefly used for medicinal purposes”), from Anglo-Norman sumak, symak, and Old French sumac, or directly from its etymon Medieval Latin sumach, sumac, from Arabic سُمَّاق (summāq), from Classical Syriac ܣܘܡܩܐ (summāqā, “red; sumac”). The English word is cognate with Italian sommaco, sommacco, Occitan simac, Portuguese sumagre, Spanish zumaque. The verb is derived from the noun.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsuːˌmæk/
- British English: /ˈs(j)uːmæk/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
African sumac
American sumac
Australian sumac
black sumac
Chinese sumac
climbing sumac
coral sumac
desert sumac