A reddish-brown chemical dye extracted from brasilwood, used historically to color fabrics and leather.
From 'brazil' (the wood) plus the chemical suffix '-ein' (used for organic compounds like 'caffein'). Brazilwood is named for the bright red color of its heartwood, which resembled burning coals.
Brazilein was a major trade commodity in medieval Europe—cities like Venice became fabulously wealthy partly by controlling the import of brasilwood from India, and it was so valuable that a country (Brazil) was eventually named after it.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.