Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Cassia"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Cassia
(1.) Hebrew _kiddah'_, i.e., "split." One of the principal
spices of the holy anointing oil (Ex. 30:24), and an article of
commerce (Ezek. 27:19). It is the inner bark of a tree
resembling the cinnamon (q.v.), the Cinnamomum cassia of
botanists, and was probably imported from India.
(2.) Hebrew pl. _ketzi'oth_ (Ps. 45:8). Mentioned in
connection with myrrh and aloes as being used to scent garments.
It was probably prepared from the peeled bark, as the Hebrew
word suggests, of some kind of cinnamon.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Cassia \Cas"sia\, n. [L. cassia and casia, Gr. ? and ?; of
Semitic origin; cf. Heb. qets[=i][=a]h, fr. q[=a]tsa' to cut
off, to peel off.]
1. (Bot.) A genus of leguminous plants (herbs, shrubs, or
trees) of many species, most of which have purgative
qualities. The leaves of several species furnish the senna
used in medicine.
2. The bark of several species of {Cinnamomum} grown in
China, etc.; Chinese cinnamon. It is imported as {cassia},
but commonly sold as cinnamon, from which it differs more
or less in strength and flavor, and the amount of outer
bark attached.
Note: The medicinal ``cassia'' (Cassia pulp) is the laxative
pulp of the pods of a leguminous tree ({Cassia fistula}
or Pudding-pipe tree), native in the East Indies but
naturalized in various tropical countries.
{Cassia bark}, the bark of {Cinnamomum cassia}, etc. The
coarser kinds are called {Cassia lignea}, and are often
used to adulterate true cinnamon.
{Cassia buds}, the dried flower buds of several species of
cinnamon ({Cinnamomum cassia}, atc..).
{Cassia oil}, oil extracted from cassia bark and cassia buds;
-- called also {oil of cinnamon}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
cassia
n 1: any of various trees or shrubs of the genus Cassia having
pinnately compound leaves and usually yellow flowers
followed by long seedpods
2: Chinese tree with aromatic bark; yields a less desirable
cinnamon than Ceylon cinnamon [syn: {cassia-bark tree}, {Cinnamomum
cassia}]
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