cubeb

UK: /ˈkjuːbɛb/ US: (kyo̅o̅′beb)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cu•beb  (kyo̅o̅′beb), n. 

1. Plant Biology the spicy fruit or drupe of an East Indian climbing shrub, Piper cubeba, of the pepper family.

• Medieval Latin, as above
• Anglo-French, Middle French
• Arabic kubābah (classical Arabic kabābah); replacing Middle English cucube, quibibe
• Medieval Latin cubēba
• 1250–1300

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

cubeb / ˈkjuːbɛb/ noun

1. a SE Asian treelike piperaceous woody climbing plant, Piper cubeba, with brownish berries
2. the unripe spicy fruit of this plant, dried and used as a stimulant and diuretic and sometimes smoked in cigarettes

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French cubebe, from Medieval Latin cubēba, from Arabic kubābah