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sweetwood bark

sweetwood bark

9.9
Fragrant bark from a tropical tree used for incense and traditional medicine
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : corteza de cascarilla
  • Incense made from sweetwood bark is popular in some Caribbean cultures.

Examples

  • The villagers collect sweetwood bark to use in traditional remedies.

  • Sweetwood bark is valued for its pleasant aroma and medicinal properties.

  • The sweetwood bark emits a pleasant aroma.

  • Many people use sweetwood bark for its medicinal properties.

  • Sweetwood bark is valued for its pleasant aroma and medicinal properties.

  • Incense made from sweetwood bark is popular in some Caribbean cultures.

  • The villagers collect sweetwood bark to use in traditional remedies.

Synonyms

cascarilla bark
vssweetwood bark
  • UK
9.9

A fragrant bark from a small shrub for making incense and health drinks

is similar but comes from a tree rather than a shrub
eleuthera bark
vssweetwood bark
  • Specialized
9.9

A fragrant bark from a small shrub used to make incense and health drinks

is similar but denotes bark from a tree instead of a shrub

Surface Forms

Morphology

sweetwood + bark

The phrase is a straightforward compound: 'bark' (outer covering of a tree) modified by 'sweetwood' (readable as 'sweet' + 'wood', i.e. a wood that is sweet-smelling or aromatic). Although 'sweetwood' as a specific botanical name is rare, the meaning is compositionally derivable and follows common noun–noun compounding, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would infer it refers to the aromatic bark of that tree.

Etymology

Sweetwood bark may get its name from the bark's sweet smell. The words sweetwood and bark point to a sweet-smelling wood that people burned as incense and used as a tonic, so the name means 'the aromatic bark used for incense and medicine'.