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cas·car·a buckthorn

(kă-skărə)

A buckthorn (Rhamnus purshiana syn. Frangula purshiana) native to western North America, the bark of which is the source of cascara sagrada.

[Spanish cáscara, bark, from cascar, to break off, from Vulgar Latin *quassicāre, from Latin quassāre, frequentative of quatere, to shake; see kwēt- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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