What does quinine mean?
Quinine is a bitter-tasting alkaloid originally obtained from the bark of the cinchona tree. For centuries it was an important medicine for treating malaria, and it was especially closely associated with the expansion of European colonial power in tropical regions because cinchona bark was widely traded for this purpose. Modern medicines have largely replaced quinine as a routine malaria treatment, but it remains familiar as the source of the distinctive bitter flavor in tonic water. In ordinary usage, “quinine” can refer either to the chemical substance itself or, especially in British English, to the bitter tonic flavor it produces. The word is consequently associated with both nineteenth-century medicine and the distinctive taste of a classic mixed drink. Although often associated with harshness or medicinal bitterness, quinine is valued in small measured amounts for adding a recognizable dry bitterness to beverages and for its important place in the history of pharmacology.
nounA bitter crystalline alkaloid obtained from the bark of the cinchona tree, formerly used as an antimalarial medicine and now chiefly used to give drinks such as tonic water their characteristic bitter taste.
- The bitter alkaloid obtained from cinchona bark and used medicinally or as a flavoring ingredient.
- A bitter tonic or flavoring made with quinine, especially the characteristic bitter ingredient of tonic water.
"She added a few drops of quinine to the tonic to give it its characteristic bitterness."
"Quinine was used for centuries to treat malaria, especially during the colonial era."
"The drink had a distinctly bitter taste because it contained quinine."
Rarely used; quinine is normally uncountable when referring to the substance.
"The laboratory compared the purity of two quinines."
The bitter chemical in tonic water was once a life-saving medicine: quinine transformed the treatment of malaria before modern antimalarial drugs largely replaced it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does quinine come from?
The English word quinine entered English through Spanish quina, a term derived from Quechuna kina, referring to cinchona bark. The related form quinquina also came from Quechua and contributed to the name cinchona. The words thus reflect the movement of an Indigenous South American plant name through Spanish into European scientific and commercial vocabulary.
How quinine is actually used
Quinine is normally uncountable when referring to the substance. In British English, it is also used by extension for the bitter tonic flavor associated with quinine water. Its use as an antimalarial has declined with the development of more effective drugs, but it remains the reference point for the bitter taste of tonic water.