cinnamon

UK: /ˈsɪnəmən/ US: /ˈsɪnəmən/ ,(sin′ə mən)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

cin•na•mon /ˈsɪnəmən/   n. [uncountable]

1. Food a sweet-smelling spice made from the inner bark of various Asian trees of the laurel family.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

cin•na•mon  (sin′ə mən), n. 

1. the aromatic inner bark of any of several East Indian trees belonging to the genus Cinnamonum, of the laurel family, esp. the bark of C. zeylanicum (Ceylon cinnamon,) used as a spice, or that of C. loureirii (Saigon cinnamon,) used in medicine as a cordial and carminative.
2. a tree yielding such bark.
3. Plant Biology any allied or similar tree.
4. Food a common culinary spice of dried rolled strips of this bark, often made into a powder.
5. cassia (def. 1).
6. a yellowish or reddish brown.

adj. 

7. Food (of food) containing or flavored with cinnamon.
8. reddish-brown or yellowish-brown.

• Semitic as above
• Greek kinnámōmon
• Latin cinnamōmum
• Middle French
• Semitic (compare Hebrew qinnāmōn); replacing late Middle English cinamome
• Late Greek kínnamon
• Latin
• 1400–50;

cin′na•moned, adj. 
cin•na•mon•ic  (sin′ə mon′ik), adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cinnamon / ˈsɪnəmən/ noun

1. a tropical Asian lauraceous tree, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, having aromatic yellowish-brown bark
2. the spice obtained from the bark of this tree, used for flavouring food and drink
3. any of several similar or related trees or their bark
   See cassia2
4. a light yellowish brown
5. (as modifier): a cinnamon coat

Etymology: 15th Century: from Old French cinnamome, via Latin and Greek, from Hebrew qinnamown