Bot. [mod.Lat.: the name was given in 1729 by Micheli in honor of Eugene, Prince of Savoy.] A genus of tropical trees (N.O. Myrtaceæ), mostly found in America and the West Indies, of which the most important is E. Pimenta or Allspice Tree.
1775. Ash, Eugenia, a genus of plants, the silver tree.
1875. Miss Bird, Sandwich Isl. (1880), 81. The great glossy-leaved Eugenia—a forest tree as large as our largest elms.
Hence Eugenic (acid) [+ -IC], C10 H12 O2, oxidized essence of cloves. Eugenin [+ -IN], clove-camphor; a crystalline substance deposited from water that has been distilled from cloves. Eugenol [+ -OL] = eugenic acid.
1838. T. Thomson, Chem. Org. Bodies, App. 1057. Oil of cloves, or eugenic acid.
1882. Watts, Dict. Chem., II. 604. Eugenic acid, when exposed to the air, quickly assumes a darker colour and becomes resinous.
1847. Craig, Eugenin.
1886. Sci. American, 25 Sept., 196. Eugenol represents the strength of the essential oil of cloves.
