🌳 A tropical tree 🟣 A natural dye

logwood

9.7

A small spiny tree from Central America and the Caribbean that people use to make dark dye

noun
/ˈlɔɡˌwʊd/

Specialized

: madera de logwood

Logwood is harvested mainly for its rich, dark heartwood, which is used to create a black dye.
logwood cutters

Examples

And Georgie would make the firelight Logwood burning through the night

Code 46 (2003)
The logwood tree, native to Central America, is valued for its durable wood that produces a sought-after dye.
In tropical regions, logwood is commonly used by artisans to dye fabrics deep black.

Synonyms

Haematoxylum campechianum

vslogwood

Specialized

9.9

A small tropical tree whose hard reddish-brown wood makes a black dye

is the common name rather than the scientific Latin label

logwood tree

vslogwood

9.9

A small spiny tree from the Caribbean whose hard inner wood makes black dye

is more about hard dark wood and its use for dye

campeachy

vslogwood

9.9

A small spiny tree with bright yellow flowers used to make black dye

is focused on darker heartwood and its use for black dye

bloodwood tree

vslogwood

9.9

A spiny shrub of Central America and the Caribbean with yellow flowers and hard inner wood for black dye

is defined more by dark hard heartwood used to produce dye

Compounds

logwood tree

9.9

A small spiny tree from the Caribbean whose hard inner wood makes black dye

Surface Forms

logwood singular

logwoods plural

Morphology

logwood = log + wood (opaque) = log + wood

Although formed from 'log' + 'wood', the term denotes a specific tropical tree and dye-producing heartwood which cannot be predicted from the component words by an average learner.

Etymology

Logwood comes from the parts log and wood, with 'log' meaning 'a cut piece of wood', because the tree was cut into logs for shipping and dye-making. So logwood refers to the tree from Central America whose dark wood was used to make a strong blackish dye.