cajuput
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caj·e·put
or caj·u·put (kăj′ə-pət, -po͝ot′)n.
1.
a. A melaleuca tree (Melaleuca cajuputi) of Southeast Asia and Australia whose leaves yield an essential oil.
b. The oil obtained from this tree, used as a flavoring and in cosmetics and medicinal preparations.
2. Any of several other melaleucas, especially M. leucadendra or M. quinquenervia, which is naturalized in southern Florida.
[Ultimately (partly via Dutch kajoe poetih) from Malay (Indonesian dialect) kayu putih : kayu, wood, tree (from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kahiw, of Proto-Austronesian origin kahiw) + Malay putih, white (from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *putiq).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cajuput
(ˈkædʒəˌpʊt) ,cajeput
orkajeput
n
1. (Plants) a small myrtaceous tree or shrub, Melaleuca leucadendron, native to the East Indies and Australia, with whitish flowers and leaves
2. (Plants) a green aromatic oil derived from this tree, used to treat skin diseases
3. (Plants) a lauraceous tree, Umbellularia californica, whose aromatic leaves are used in medicine
[C18: from Malay kayu puteh, from kayu wood + puteh white]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
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