Forms: 6–7 tamarinde, 7 -ynd, tamerind, thamarind, S tamerinth, 7– tamarind; also 6 (from Pg.) tamarindo, pl. -os, 6–7 (It.) pl. tamarindi, 7 (from F.) pl. tamarines. [= Sp., Pg., It. tamarindo, med.L. tamarindus, ultimately ad. Arab. tamr-hindī, i.e., date of India, whence in the early herbalists and physicians tamar indi, in Marco Polo (Fr. version) tamarandi; in 13th c. F. tamarindes pl. (Hatz.-Darm.), mod.F. tamarin (15th c. in Hatz.-Darm.).]
1. The fruit of the tree Tamarindus indica (see 2), a brown pod containing one to twelve seeds embedded in a soft brown or reddish-black acid pulp, valued for its medicinal qualities, and also used in cookery as a relish, etc. In Commerce, Med., etc., tamarinds means this pulp.
1533. Elyot, Cast. Helthe (1539), 60. Pourgers of choler … Tamarindes, halfe an ounce in a decoction.
1582. N. Lichefield, trans. Castanheda’s Conq. E. Ind., I. xl. 94. They haue greate store of Ginger, Cardamomon, Tamarindos … and such lyke.
1612. Woodall, Surg. Mate, Wks. (1653), 165. The Tamarinds brought from the Indies.
1652. French, Yorksh. Spa, ix. 82. Some Lenitive, as … Manna, Tamarines,… syrop of Roses.
1732. Arbuthnot, Rules of Diet, in Aliments, etc., 244. Tamarinds, cooling, astringent, yet laxative to the lower Belly.
1812. J. Smyth, Pract. of Customs (1821), 252. The Tamarind is a pod resembling a bean-cod, containing two, three, or four seeds.
1872. Oliver, Elem. Bot., II. 166. Tamarinds, as imported, are the pulp of the fruit of Tamarindus, preserved in syrup.
2. A large tree, Tamarindus indica, N.O. Leguminose, supposed to be a native of the E. Indies, but now cultivated in warm climates generally, bearing dark-green pinnate leaves and racemes of fragrant yellow flowers streaked with red, and producing the fruit described in 1, also a hard and heavy timber.
1614. Purchas, Pilgrimage, V. vii. (ed. 2), 483. Ouer the said Temple grow many Tamarinds.
1698. Fryer, E. India & P., 126. A Grove of Mangoes and Thamarinds.
1727–46. Thomson, Summer, 667. Lay me reclined Beneath the spreading tamarind.
1753. Hanway, Trav. (1762), I. VII. xcv. 438. A table of tamarinth,… half the diameter of the tree which produced it.
1872. Oliver, Elem. Bot., II. 165. The streaked wood of the Tamarind … used in cabinet work.
3. Applied to various trees (or their fruits) which resemble the tamarind in some respect; e.g., in New South Wales and other parts of Australia, a species of Cupania; usually with defining words.
Bastard tamarind, Acacia trichophylloides, of Jamaica (Miller, Plant-n., 1884). Black, Black-crown, Brown, or Velvet tamarind, a small leguminous tree, Codarium acutifolium or Dialium guineense: see quots. Manilla tamarind: see quot. 1866. Wild tamarind, applied to various leguminous trees or shrubs, as, in the W. Indies, Pithecolobium filicifolium; in Jamaica, Acacia arborea; in Trinidad, Pentaclethra filamentosa (Miller). Yellow tamarind of tropical America, Acacia villosa.
1833. M. Scott, Tom Cringle, vii. (1859), 130. Overshadowed by a magnificent wild Tamarind.
1857. Henfrey, Bot., 280. The Tamarinds of Sierra Leone,… are species of Codarium.
1866. Treas. Bot., 899/2. P[ithecolobium] dulce, a large tree native of the hot regions of Mexico … is now planted … in the Madras Presidency, where the fruit is known as Manilla Tamarinds. Ibid., 397/2. D[ialium] acutifolium, the Velvet Tamarind of Sierra Leone … The pod, about the size and form of a filbert, is covered with a beautiful black velvet down.
1887. Moloney, Forestry W. Afr., 332. Velvet Tamarind of Sierra Leone, Black Tamarind…. The pulp surrounding the seeds is pleasantly acid and commonly eaten.
4. attrib. and Comb., as tamarind-pod, -pot, -pulp, -seed, -stone, -tree; also tamarind-fish, a relish made from various kinds of Indian fish preserved with the acid pulp of the tamarind fruit; † tamarind-palmetto, some species of palmetto; tamarind-plum, an E. Indian tree, Dialium indicum, or its fruit: see quots.; tamarind tea, tamarind water, an infusion of tamarinds, used as a cooling drink; tamarind-whey: see quot.
1858. Simmonds, Dict. Trade, *Tamarind-fish.
1865. Fr. Day, Fishes Malabar, Introd. 9. The best Tamarind fish is prepared from the Seir fish and from the Lates calcarifer.
1698. Fryer, Acc. E. India & P., 16. [The island of Johanna] The outwart Coat of which is embroidered with *Thamarind Palmetto.
1846. Lindley, Veg. Kingd., 549. Dialium indicum, also called the *Tamarind Plum.
1857. Henfrey, Bot., 280. Besides the Tamarind, other fruits, less acid, are eaten, as the Tamarind Plum.
1866. Treas. Bot., 1121/1. The *tamarind-pods imported from the East Indies vary in length from three to six inches, and are slightly curved. They consist of a brittle brown shell, within which is a soft acid brown pulp, traversed by strong woody fibres.
1850. Thackeray, Pendennis, li. He knew the way to the *tamarind-pots.
1836. Brande, Chem. (ed. 4), Index, *Tamarind pulp, 1062.
1844. H. H. Wilson, Brit. India, II. II. iv. 163. The Hindus endeavoured to appease the cravings of nature with … bruised *Tamarind stones, and the leaves of trees.
1883. Chambers’ Encycl., IX. 283/1. *Tamarind tea is made by infusing tamarinds in boiling water.
1681. R. Knox, Hist. Ceylon, IV. i. 118. [He] sat down under a *Tamarind Tree.
1825. Hone’s Every-day Bk., I. 678. According to some botanists, the tamarind-tree enfolds within its leaves the flowers or fruit every night.
1885–8. Fagge & Pye-Smith, Princ. Med. (ed. 2), I. 150. For beverages he may be allowed to choose among barley-water, toast-and-water, lemonade, *tamarind-water,… and cold weak tea.
1883. Chambers’ Encycl., IX. 283/1. *Tamarind whey is prepared by boiling one ounce of tamarinds with a pint of new milk, and straining.
