Sumac

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /ˈsuːmæk/

Alternative forms

• shumac
• sumach

Origin

Old French sumac, from Medieval Latin sumach, from Arabic سُمَّاق‎, from Classical Syriac ܣܘܡܩܐ (summāqāʾ, "red; sumac").

Full definition of sumac

Noun

1. Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Rhus including the poison ivy and poison oak.
• 1957, J. D. Salinger, "Zooey", in, 1961, :There was a Steinway grand piano ... a cherrywood writing table, and an assortment of floor lamps, table lamps, and "bridge" lamps that sprang up all over the congested inscape like sumac.
2. A sour spice popular in the Eastern Mediterranean made from the berries of the plant.

Derived terms

• poison sumac

Anagrams

• Musca