East Ind. Also thet-, theet-, thietsee, thyt-si. [Burmese þitsī, þissī (written sachchē), f. þit tree, wood + asī, in comb. -sī gum: cf. sē to be sticky.] The ‘black varnish tree,’ Melanorrhœa usitatissima, N.O. Anacardiaceæ, of Burina and Pegu; also applied to the varnish obtained from it.
1832. Don, Gen. Syst. Gard., II. 67/1. M[elanorrhœa] usitata.… Native of Hindostan … where it is called Theet-tsee or Zit-si.
1839. Royle, Bot. Himalayan Mts., I. 178. Melanorrhœa usitata of Dr. Wallich,… the theet-see, or varnishing-tree of the Burmese,… abounds in a thick and viscid, greyish-brown fluid, which turns black soon after coming into contact with the air.
1858. Hogg, Veg. Kingd., 244. The Black Varnish-Tree … grows in the Burmese empire, on the banks of the Irrawadi, where it is called Theet-tsee, or Zit-si.
1858. Simmonds, Dict. Trade, Thetsee, a varnish obtained from Melanorrhœa usitata, in Arracan, and used for lacquering.
1890. Hallett, 1000 Miles, 284. A plain in which many great thyt-si (black-varnish trees) were growing.
