acacia

acacia
\ \ [16] Acacia comes via Latin from Greek akakía, a word for the shittah. This is a tree mentioned several times in the Bible (the Ark of the Covenant was made from its wood). It is not clear precisely what it was, but it was probably a species of what we now know as the acacia. The ultimate derivation of Greek akakía is obscure too; some hold that it is based on Greek aképoint’ (a distant relation of English acid), from the thorniness of the tree, but others suggest that it may be a loanword from Egyptian.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Acacia — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Acacia (homonymie) …   Wikipédia en Français

  • acacia — [ akasja ] n. m. • 1553; acacie XIVe; lat. acacia, du gr. 1 ♦ Bot. Arbre à feuilles divisées en folioles, à fleurs jaunes, dont certaines espèces produisent la gomme arabique. Le mimosa est un acacia (cf. Bois d amourette). 2 ♦ Cour. Arbre à… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Acacia — • The Biblical Acacia belongs to the genus Mimosa Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Acacia     Acacia     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • acacia — ACÁCIA, acacii, s.f. Nume dat arborilor sau arbuştilor tropicali din familia leguminoaselor, cu flori albe sau galbene, cultivaţi ca plante ornamentale, pentru industria parfumurilor şi pentru extragerea gumei arabice (Acacia). – Din lat., fr.… …   Dicționar Român

  • ACACIA — (Heb. שִׁטָּה, shittah), a tree of Israel considered to be identical to the shittah tree. In the past it was extensively used for construction. Today it is planted to beautify the arid regions of Israel. Acacia wood is mentioned repeatedly (Ex.… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • acacia — (Del lat. acacĭa, y este del gr. ἀκακία). 1. f. Árbol o arbusto de la familia de las Mimosáceas, a veces con espinas, de madera bastante dura, hojas compuestas o divididas en hojuelas, flores olorosas en racimos laxos y colgantes, y fruto en… …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • acacia — familia de árboles y arbustos leguminosos. De algunos de ellos se extráen productos medicinales como el catecú de la Acacia catechu o la goma arábiga de la Acacia verek dibujo de herbario [véase http://www.iqb.es/diccio/a/ac1.htm#acacia]… …   Diccionario médico

  • acacia — [ə kā′shə] n. [ME < OFr acacie < L acacia < Gr akakia, shittah tree, thorny tree; prob. < akē, a point, thorn < IE base * ak̑ : see ACID] 1. a) any of several trees, shrubs, or other plants (genus Acacia) of the mimosa family, with …   English World dictionary

  • Acacia — A*ca cia, n.; pl. E. {Acacias}, L. {Acaci[ae]}. [L. from Gr. ?; orig. the name of a thorny tree found in Egypt; prob. fr. the root ak to be sharp. See {Acute}.] 1. A genus of leguminous trees and shrubs. Nearly 300 species are Australian or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • acacia — sustantivo femenino 1. Árbol o arbusto de varias especies, a veces con espinas, de hoja caduca y flores olorosas, dispuestas en racimos colgantes, del que se obtiene la goma arábiga. acacia blanca / falsa. acacia bastarda Endrino …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • acacia — (n.) 1540s, from L. acacia, from Gk. akakia thorny Egyptian tree, perhaps related to Gk. ake point, thorn, from PIE root *ak sharp (see ACRID (Cf. acrid)). Or perhaps a Hellenization of some Egyptian word. From late 14c. in English as the name of …   Etymology dictionary

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