catechu

English

Alternative forms

• cachou, cashoo, catchoo, cutch

Etymology

Probably a corruption of the Malay kacu.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkæt.ɪt͡ʃ.uː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkæt.əˌt͡ʃuː/, /ˈkæt.əˌʃuː/

Noun

catechu (countable and uncountable, plural catechus)

1. A gummy extract of any of several species of Acacieae, but especially Senegalia catechu, produced by boiling the wood of the tree in water and evaporating the resulting liquid.
   • 1837, Jonathan Pereira, “Lectures on Materia Medica: Lecture LXI”, in London Medical Gazette‎^[1], volume XX, page 107:

     The pale catechus are usually sweeter and more pleasant for chewing.

Synonyms

• (extract of acacia): Japanese earth

Translations

a gummy extract of any of several species of Acacieae

• Assamese: খৈৰ (khoir)
• Irish: caitsiú m
• Tagalog: kateku

See also

• catechu on Wikipedia.Wikipedia