sumacs

Noun

sumac (usually uncountable, plural sumacs)

1. (usually) Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus Rhus and certain other genera in Anacardiaceae.
   • The Rhamnus of Maderaspatan, and the Trifoliate Sumachs from the Coaſt of Africa, are altogether new.1693 January, Leonardi Plukenetii [i.e., Leonard Plukenet], “PHYTOGRAPHIA seu Plantæ quamplurimæ novæ & Literis huc usque incognitæ variis & remotissimis Provinciis ipsisq; Indiis allatæ Nomine &...
   1. (usually) particularly, one of species Rhus coriaria (tanner's sumac)
      • .
2. (usually) Dried and chopped-up leaves and stems of a plant of the genus Rhus, particularly tanner's sumac (see sense 1), used for dyeing and tanning leather or for medicinal purposes.
3. (usually) A sour spice popular in the Eastern Mediterranean, made from the berries of tanner's sumac.
   • The spices used in this bread are zaatar and sumack. [...] Sumack is a spice derived from the berries of a bush that grows wild in all Mediterranean areas. The berries are dried and crushed to form a coarse purple-red powder. It has a sour taste.2006, Rivka Goldman, “Bread with Spices”, in Mama Nazima’s Jewish-Iraqi Cuisine: Low-fat, Low-cholesterol: Cuisine, History, Cultural References and Survival Stories of the Jewish-Iraqi, New York...

See all 5 meanings of sumac