1. Any of various chiefly tropical or subtropical trees, shrubs, or herbs of the genus Cassia in the pea family, having pinnately compound leaves, usually yellow flowers, and long, flat or cylindrical pods.
2. 1. A tropical Asian evergreen tree (Cinnamomum cassia) having aromatic bark used as a substitute for cinnamon.
   2. The bark of this tree.

[Middle English, from Latin, a kind of plant, from Greek kasiā, kassiā, probably of Phoenician origin, akin to Hebrew qəṣīyâ, probably ultimately of Chinese origin.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.