fustic

F4U1S1T1I1C3
US/ˈfʌstɪk/

noun

A tropical American tree (Maclura tinctoria), whose wood produces a yellow dye.

Similar
old fusticfustocyoung fusticfustetVenice sumacEurasian smoke tree
Scrabble 11

Meanings

nounfustic (usually uncountable, plural fustics)

plural fustics · alternative fustet · alternative fustoc · alternative fustick

  1. uncountableusuallyA tropical American tree (Maclura tinctoria), whose wood produces a yellow dye.

    […]nor can I tell to this day what wood to call the tree we cut down, except that it was very like the tree we call fustic, or between that and the Nicaragua wood, for it was much of the same colour and smell.

    1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC

    Synonyms: old fustic, fustoc, young fustic, fustet, Venice sumac, Eurasian smoke tree

  2. uncountableusuallyA Eurasian smoketree (Cotinus coggygria), whose wood produces an orange dye.
  3. uncountableusuallyWood of these trees.

    Fustic will also dye a yellow with alum for a mordaunt, either on woolen or silk, but it makes a poor color in comparison with the Quercitron, (American yellow oak bark.)

    1847, editorial staff, “To Dye Yellow Color”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 72
  4. uncountableusuallyA yellow dye obtained from the wood of these trees.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA tropical American tree (Maclura tinctoria), whose wood produces a yellow dye.

Similar
old fusticfustocyoung fusticfustetVenice sumacEurasian smoke tree

Origin

  1. Middle Frenchfustec
  2. Middle Englishfustik
  3. Englishfustic

From Middle English fustik, from Middle French fustec, variant of fustet.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek θάψος, κοκκυγέα
  • θάψος (thápsos)Cotinus coggygria
  • κοκκυγέα (kokkugéa)Cotinus coggygria
Bulgarian смрадлика
  • смрадлика (smradlika)Cotinus coggygria
German Perückenstrauch
  • PerückenstrauchCotinus coggygria
Hungarian cserszömörce, sárga cserszömörce
  • cserszömörceCotinus coggygria
  • sárga cserszömörceCotinus coggygria
Italian scòtano
  • scòtanoCotinus coggygria
Cite this entry
APA

fustic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fustic

MLA

“fustic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fustic. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fustic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fustic.

Source: fustic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.