quebracho

UK: English: /keɪˈbrɑːtʃəʊ/, Spanish: /keˈβratʃo/

US: (kā brä′chō; Sp. ke vrä′chô)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

que•bra•cho  (kā brä′chō; Sp. ke vrä′chô), n., pl. -chos (-chōz; Sp. -chôs). 

1. Plant Biology any of several tropical American trees of the genus Schinopsis, having very hard wood, esp. S. lorentzii, the wood and bark of which are important in tanning and dyeing.
2. Plant Biology a tree, Aspidosperma quebrachoblanco, of the dogbane family, yielding a medicinal bark.
3. the wood or bark of any of these trees.

• American Spanish, variant of quiebracha, quiebra-hacha literally, (it) breaks (the) hatchet; see quebrada, hatchet
• 1880–85

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

quebracho / keɪˈbrɑːtʃəʊ keˈβratʃo/ noun ( -chos / -tʃəʊz -tʃos/)

1. either of two anacardiaceous South American trees, Schinopsis lorentzii or S. balansae, having a tannin-rich hard wood used in tanning and dyeing
2. an apocynaceous South American tree, Aspidosperma quebrachoblanco, whose bark yields alkaloids used in medicine and tanning
3. the wood or bark of any of these trees

Etymology: 19th Century: from American Spanish, from quiebracha, from quebrar to break (from Latin crepāre to rattle) + hacha axe (from French hache)