Meanings
plural lignum vitaes
- uncountableThe wood or resin from such trees.
1 more example
The steamer Lee Yuen, when about 30 miles from Foochow, abreast of Fuhyan, on her passage from this port to Foochow, carried away the lignum vitæ bush in the stern tube. She was beached for one tide under the lee of Matsu Island, for temporary repairs, and then proceeded to Foochow, where she has gone into dock.
1875 January 21, “Summary of News”, in North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette, volume XIV, number 402, Shanghai, →OCLC, page 47, column 2
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
nounhard greenish-brown wood of the lignum vitae tree and other trees of the genus Guaiacum
nounsmall evergreen tree of Caribbean and southern Central America to northern South America; a source of lignum vitae wood, hardest of commercial timbers, and a medicinal resin
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinlignum“wood”
- Englishlignum vitae
From Latin lignum (“wood”) vitae (“of life”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
lignum vitae. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lignum%20vitae
“lignum vitae.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lignum%20vitae. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lignum vitae,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lignum%20vitae.
Source: lignum vitae on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.