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Glite Dictionary
genus Cinchona

genus Cinchona

9.9
A group of South American trees whose bark gives quinine, a medicine for malaria
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒɛnəs sɪnˈkoʊnə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : género Cinchona
  • Many species within the genus Cinchona produce quinine.

Examples

  • The genus Cinchona is renowned for its role in the treatment of malaria.

  • Many medicines were historically derived from trees belonging to the genus Cinchona.

  • Botanists continue to study the genus Cinchona to understand its potential health benefits.

  • The genus Cinchona is known for its medicinal bark.

  • Botanists continue to study the genus Cinchona to understand its potential health benefits.

  • Many medicines were historically derived from trees belonging to the genus Cinchona.

  • The genus Cinchona is renowned for its role in the treatment of malaria.

Synonyms

genus Chinchona
vsgenus Cinchona
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of trees from the Andes whose bark is used to make medicine for malaria

means the same but uses the standard spelling

Surface Forms

genus Cinchona singular
genera Cinchona plural

Morphology

genus + cinchona

The phrase is fully compositional: 'genus' denotes a taxonomic rank and 'Cinchona' is the name of that group, so 'genus Cinchona' straightforwardly means the biological genus called Cinchona. This follows standard cross-linguistic taxonomic naming patterns and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Genus Cinchona may come from a Spanish countess, the Countess of Chinchón, who long ago was said to be cured of fever by the tree's bark and who helped send that bark to Europe. That's why Cinchona now names a group of 'trees' whose 'bark' makes an important 'medicine' used against fevers and malaria.