Meanings
plural puccoons · alternative paucon · alternative pauson · alternative pocones
- countablebiologyAny one of several plants yielding a red pigment which is used by the North American Indians, such as bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) and two species of Lithospermum, Lithospermum caroliniense and Lithospermum canescens.
The puccoon dye was used as a sort of body rouge; it rubbed off on English linen quite easily, as Byrd's men discovered.
2002, Stephen G Ausband, Byrd's line, page 62 - uncountableThe red pigment (dye) obtained from these plants.
their head and shoulders [were] painted red, with Oyle and Pocones mingled together, which Scarlet-like colour made an exceeding handsome shew ….
1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, quoted by Kupperman in 1988, page 61
Synonyms & antonyms
nounperennial plant of eastern North America having hairy foliage yielding a red or yellow pigment
nounperennial woodland native of North America having a red root and red sap and bearing a solitary lobed leaf and white flower in early spring and having acrid emetic properties; rootstock used as a stimulant and expectorant
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Powhatanpoughkone
- Englishpuccoon
From Virginia Algonquian i.e. Powhatan poughkone. Related to poke, pocan.
More words from Powhatan
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with puccoon
Cite this entry
puccoon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puccoon
“puccoon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puccoon. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “puccoon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puccoon.
Source: puccoon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.