noun
quinine
kwih-NEEN
noun
1
A bitter compound extracted from cinchona bark, used to treat malaria and to flavour tonic water.
"Tonic water gets its bitter taste from a small amount of quinine."
"Early European settlers relied on quinine to survive malaria outbreaks."
How to Use Quinine
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA bitter medicinal compound from tree bark, historically the main treatment for malaria.
Common pairings
quinine tonic
a dose of quinine
Word Forms
quinined past tense, quinines plural, quinines singular
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Etymology
Traced back through Spanish quina and French quinquina to Quechua kina, the native word for cinchona bark.