quassia
oxford
views updated May 18 2018quassia (wood, etc. of) a S. Amer. tree,
Quassia amara. XVIII. f. the name of a Surinam Negro named Graman (i.e. ‘grand man’)
Quassi, the discoverer of the root's medicinal properties in 1730.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD