cascara sagrada

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish cáscara sagrada (“sacred bark”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kaˌskɑː.ɹə səˈɡɹɑː.də/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /kæˌskɛɹ.ə səˈɡɹɑ.də/

Noun

cascara sagrada (uncountable)

1. (pharmacology) A purgative made from the dried bark of an American buckthorn.
   • 2022 October 2, Cara Schacter, “My Year of Stress and Constipation”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Mid-March 2021, at a bowling alley, I watch balls thunder down lanes and wonder if I’ve had a bowel movement since Presidents’ Day. I try: Miralax, Restoralax, magnesium citrate (liquid and powder), […] dandelion, cascara sagrada, pumpkin purée, […] .

2. The tree from which cascara is obtained (Rhamnus purshiana), native to western North America.

Related terms

• cascara

References

• “cascara”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “cascara sagrada”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.